THE  SEA  BRIDE 


BEN  AMES  WILLIAMS 


S.  EDWIN  CORLE,  JR. 
His  Book 


THE  SEA  BRIDE 


THE  SEA  BRIDE 


BY, 

BEN  AMES  WILLIAMS 


AUTHOR  OF 
ALL  THE  BROTHERS  WERE  VALIANT 


GROSSET    &    DUNLAP 

PUBLISHERS  NEW    YORK 


..Published  by  Arrangement  with  The  Macmillan  Company 


OOPTBIdHT,    1919 

BY  BIN  AMIS  WILLIAMS 

COPYRIGHT,  1919 
BT  THE  MACMILLAN  COMPAQ 


Set  up  and  electrotyperi.     Published  September,  1919. 


THEY  were  to  be  married  before  the  open  fire,  in 
the  big  living-room  of  the  old  house  on  the  hill. 
Upstairs,  Bess  Holt  was  helping  Faith  dress. 
Faith  sat  before  the  old,  veneered  dressing  table  with  its 
little  mirror  tilting  on  the  curved  standards,  and  sub- 
mitted quietly  and  happily  to  Bess's  ministrations. 
Bess  was  a  chatterbox,  and  her  tongue  flew  as  nimbly  as 
the  deft  fingers  that  arranged  Faith's  veil.  Faith  was 
content;  her  soft  eyes  resting  on  her  own  image  in  the 
little  mirror  were  like  the  eyes  of  one  who  dreams  dreams 
and  sees  visions.  She  scarce  heard  Bess  at  all.  .  .  . 

Only  once  she  turned  and  looked  slowly  about  this  low- 
ceiled  old  room  that  had  been  her  home:  the  high,  soft 
bed,  with  its  canopy  resting  on  the  four  tall  posts;  the 
frame  of  that  canopy  was  split  in  one  place:  she  had 
wound  it  with  wire  to  strengthen  it.  How  many  morn- 
ings, waking  pleasantly  as  day  stole  in  the  little  windows, 
she  had  seen  that  twist  of  wire  first  of  all  as  her  eyes 
opened.  She  used  to  look  at  it,  and  dream  a  little,  be- 
fore she  rose.  .  .  .  One  window,  with  its  white  hangings, 
was  just  at  the  foot  of  the  bed.  The  cool,  salt-laden 
winds  from  the  sea  used  to  whisper  in  there  and  soothe 
kcr  sleep.  She  had  always  loved  the  sea.  Would  she 


S  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

always  love  it  so,  when  there  was  nothing  else  but  the 
sea  on  every  hand?  .  .  .  When  she  should  have  sailed 
away  with  big  Noll  Wing.  .  .  . 

The  high  chest  of  drawers,  the  little  dressing  table,  the 
delicate  chairs.  .  .  .  These  were  all  old  and  familiar 
friends  —  whom  she  was  leaving  behind  her.  And  she 
loved  them,  loved  the  ugly  paper  on  the  wall,  loved  the 
old  daguerreotypes  above  the  chest  of  drawers,  loved  the 
crooked  sampler  by  the  never-used  fireplace.  Loved 
them.  .  .  . 

She  smiled  happily  and  confidently.  She  loved  them 
.  .  .  but  she  loved  big  Noll  Wing  better.  She  would 
not  regret.  .  .  . 

Below  stairs,  her  father,  Jem  Kilcup,  talked  with  Dr. 
Brant,  the  minister.  They  spoke  of  wind  and  weather, 
as  men  do  whose  lives  lie  near  the  sea.  They  spoke  of 
oil,  of  ships,  of  tedious  cruises  when  the  seas  were  bare 
of  whales.  .  .  .  The  minister  marked  the  old  harpoon 
that  stood  in  the  corner  by  the  fire,  and  Jem  told  how 
with  that  battered  iron  he  had  struck  his  last  whale,  a 
dozen  3Tears  before.  ...  A  good  tale.  The  whale 
fought  hard,  left  Jem  with  a  crushed  chest  that  drove 
him  from  the  sea.  Their  talk  wandered  everywhere  save 
where  their  thoughts  were;  they  did  not  speak  of  Faith, 
nor  of  Noll  Wing.  Jem  could  not  bear  to  speak  of  his 
girl  who  was  going  from  his  arms  to  another's ;  the  min- 
ister understood,  and  joined  with  him  in  a  conspiracy  of 
silence.  Only,  when  Bess  came  whispering  down  to  say 
that  Faith  was  ready,  old  Jem  gripped  Dr.  Brant's  arm 
and  whispered  harshly  into  the  minister's  ear :  "  Marry 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  3 

them  tight,  and  marry  them  hard,  and  true,  Doctor. 
By  God.  .  .  ." 

Dr.  Brant  nodded.  "  No  fear,  my  friend,"  he  said. 
"  Faith  is  a  woman.  .  .  ." 

"  Aye,"  said  Jem  hoarsely.  "  Aye ;  and  she's  made 
her  bed.  God  help  her." 

Things  began  to  stir  in  the  big  house.  Noll  Wing 
was  in  the  back  room  with  Henry  Ham,  who  had  sailed 
with  him  three  voyages,  and  would  back  him  in  this  new 
venture.  Young  Roy  Kilcup  had  found  them  there.  .  .  . 
Old  Jem  had  a  demijohn  of  cherry  rum,  thirty  years  un- 
opened. He  sent  it  in  to  Noll.  .  .  .  And  Noll  Wing 
smacked  his  lips  over  it  cheerfully,  and  became  more 
amiable  than  was  his  custom.  Roy  Kilcup  caught  him 
in  this  mood  and  took  quick  vantage  of  it.  When  the 
three  came  in  where  Jem  and  Dr.  Brant  were  waiting, 
Roy  crossed  and  gripped  his  father's  arm.  "  I'm  go- 
ing," he  whispered.  "  Cap'n  Wing  will  take  me,  as  ship's 
boy.  He's  promised,  dad." 

Old  Jem  nodded.  His  children  were  leaving  him;  he 
was  past  protesting. 

"  I'm  ready,"  Roy  told  his  father.  "  I'm  going  to 
pack,  right  after  they're  married."  He  saw  Dr.  Brant 
smile,  and  whispered :  "  Be  quick  as  you  can,  sir." 

The  minister  touched  the  boy's  shoulder  reassuringly. 
"  Quiet,  Roy,"  he  said.  "  There's  time.  .  .  ." 

People  were  gathering  in  the  living-room  from  the 
other  parts  of  the  house.  They  came  by  twos  and  threes. 
The  men  were  awkward  and  uneasy,  and  strove  to  be  joc- 
ular; the  women  smiled  with  tears  in  their  eyes.  When 


4  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

one  woman  surrenders  herself  to  one  man,  all  women 
weep.  Bess  Holt,  alone,  did  not  weep.  She  was  to  play 
the  organ;  she  sat  down  upon  the  stool  and  spread  her 
pretty,  soft  skirts  about  her,  and  looked  back  over  her 
shoulder  to  where  Jem  stood,  in  the  hall,  at  the  stair 
foot.  He  was  to  sign  to  her  when  Faith  was  ready.  Dr. 
Brant  crossed  and  stood  beside  the  fireplace  where  the 
logs  were  laid,  ready  for  the  match.  Noll  Wing  and 
Henry  Ham  took  stand  with  him.  Ham,  the  mate,  was 
a  big  man,  and  an  awkward  one.  His  high  collar  irked 
him ;  his  perilously  shaven  chin  moved  restlessly  back 
and  forth  in  the  effort  to  ease  his  tortured  throat.  He 
coughed  sepulchrally ;  and  a  woman  giggled  in  the  still- 
ness, and  wept  quietly  into  her  handkerchief. 

Cap'n  Noll  Wing  stood  easily,  squarely  upon  his 
spread  legs.  He,  too,  was  a  big  man;  his  chest  swelled 
barrel-like;  his  arms  stretched  the  sleeves  of  his  black 
coat.  Cap'n  Wing  was  seldom  seen  without  a  cap  upon 
his  head.  Some  of  those  in  that  room  discovered  in  this 
moment  for  the  first  time  that  he  was  bald.  The  tight, 
white  skin  upon  his  skull  contrasted  unpleasantly  with 
the  brown  of  his  leather  cheeks.  The  thick  hair  about 
his  ears  was  tinged  with  gray.  Across  his  nose  and  his 
firm  cheeks,  tiny  veins  drew  lacy  patterns  of  purple. 
Garnished  in  wedding  finery,  he  was  nevertheless  a  man 
past  middle  life,  and  no  mistaking.  A  man  almost  as 
old  as  Jem  Kilcup,  and  wedding  Jem  Kilcup's  daughter. 
An  old  man,  but  a  man,  for  all  that;  stout,  and  strong, 
and  full  of  sap.  He  had  the  dignity  of  mastery ;  he  had 
the  bearing  of  a  man  accustomed  to  command  and  be 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  5 

obeyed.  Roy  Kilcup  watched  this  man  with  eyes  of 
worship. 

Bess,  watching  over  her  shoulder,  saw  old  Jem  look  up 
the  stairs,  then  turn  and  nod  awkwardly  to  her.  She 
pressed  the  keys,  the  organ  breathed,  the  tones  swelled 
fortli  and  filled  the  room.  Still,  over  her  shoulder,  she 
watched  the  door,  as  did  every  other  eye.  They  saw 
Faith  appear  there,  by  her  father's  side;  they  saw  her 
hand  drop  lightly  on  his  arm.  Jem  moved;  his  broad 
shoulders  brushed  the  sides  of  the  door.  He  brought 
his  daughter  in,  and  turned  with  her  upon  his  arm  toward 
where  Noll  Wing  was  waiting. 

Faith's  eyes,  as  she  came  through  the  door,  swept  the 
room  once  before  they  found  the  eyes  of  Cap'n  Wing 
and  rested  there.  That  single  glance  had  shown  her 
Dan'l  Tobey,  behind  the  others,  near  the  window;  and 
the  memory  of  Dan'l's  face  played  before  her  as 
she  moved  toward  where  Noll  waited.  Poor  Dan'l. 
She  pitied  him  as  women  do  pity  the  lover  they  do  not 
love.  She  had  been  hard  on  Dan'l.  Not  her  fault ;  but 
still  the  truth.  Hard  on  Dan'l  Tobey.  .  .  .  And  misery 
dwelt  upon  his  countenance,  so  that  she  could  not  forget, 
even  while  she  went  to  meet  Noll  Wing  before  the  minister. 

Janie  Cox  dropped  her  handkerchief  and  dove  for  it 
desperately,  as  Faith  and  Jem  passed  where  she  stood. 
Janie's  swift  movement  was  outrageously  conspicuous  in 
that  still  room.  Faith  looked  toward  her,  and  saw  poor 
Janie  crimson  with  embarrassment,  and  smiled  at  her 
comfortingly. 


6  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

When  she  looked  forward  again,  she  found  herself  at 
Noll  Wing's  side,  and  Dr.  Brant  was  already  speak- 
ing. .  .  . 

When  they  made  their  responses,  Noll  in  his  heavy 
voice  of  a  master,  and  Faith  in  the  level  voice  of  a  proud, 
sure  woman,  her  eyes  met  his  and  promised  him  things 
unutterable.  It  is  this  speaking  of  eyes  to  eyes  that  is 
marriage;  the  words  are  of  small  account.  Faith 
pledged  herself  to  Noll  Wing  when  she  opened  her  eyes 
to  him  and  let  him  look  into  the  depths  of  her.  A  woman 
who  loves  wishes  to  give.  Faith  gave  all  herself  in  that 
gift  of  her  quiet,  steady  eyes.  Cap'n  Wing,  before  them, 
found  himself  abashed.  He  was  glad  when  the  word  was 
said,  when  the  still  room  stirred  to  life.  He  kissed  Faith 
hurriedly;  he  was  a  little  afraid  of  her.  Then  the  oth- 
ers pressed  forward  and  separated  them,  and  he  was 
glad  enough  to  be  thrust  back,  to  be  able  to  laugh,  and 
jest,  and  grip  the  hands  of  men. 

The  women,  and  some  of  the  men,  kissed  Faith  as  she 
stood  there,  hanging  on  her  father's  arm.  Her  eyes 
flickered  now  and  then  toward  Noll,  her  Noll  Wing  now. 
But  she  could  not  always  be  watching  him.  Too  many 
others  came  to  speak  with  her.  Dan'l  Tobey  came ; 
Dan'l  with  his  round  moon-face,  and  his  freckles,  and  his 
sandy  hair.  .  .  .  Dan'l  was  only  a  little  older  than  her- 
self; a  chubby,  strong  young  man.  .  .  .  Little  more  than 
a  boy,  but  a  man,  too.  .  .  .  Two  cruises  behind  him.  .  .  . 
He  was  going  out  as  second  mate  with  Cap'n  Wing,  this 
afternoon.  Faith  knew  Dan'l  loved  her.  She  was  pleas- 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  7 

antly  sorry,  and  at  the  same  time  secretly  glad.  No 
woman  is  completely  sorry  that  she  is  beloved.  Faith 
told  herself  she  must  help  Dan'l  get  over  it,  on  this 
cruise  that  was  to  come.  She  must.  .  .  .  She  decided, 
while  she  spoke  to  him,  that  she  must  find  a  wife  for 
Dan'l.  What  married  woman  is  not  a  matchmaker? 
Faith  had  now  been  a  married  woman  for  seven  minutes 
by  the  tall  clock  a-ticking  in  the  corner.  .  .  . 

Dan'l  gave  way  to  others;  and  Bess  Holt  cried  in  dis- 
may, "  Faith,  the  fire  was  never  lighted !  " 

It  was  true.  In  the  swift  moments  before  Faith  came 
downstairs,  no  one  had  remembered  to  touch  a  match  to 
the  kindling  under  the  smooth,  white  birch  logs  in  the 
great  fireplace.  When  Faith  saw  this,  she  felt  a,  sudden, 
swift  pang  of  disappointment  at  her  heart.  She  loved 
a  fire,  an  open  fire,  merrily  blazing.  .  .  .  She  had  always 
dreamed  of  being  married  before  this  great  fire  in  her 
father's  home.  She  herself  had  chosen  these  logs,  and 
under  her  eye  her  brother  Roy  had  borne  them  into  the 
house  and  laid  them  upon  the  small  stuff  and  kindling  she 
had  prepared.  She  had  wanted  that  fire  to  spring  to 
life  as  she  and  Noll  were  married;  she  had  thought  of  it 
as  a  symbol  of  the  new  life  that  was  beginning  for  Noll. 
She  was  terribly  disappointed.  .  .  . 

In  that  first  pang,  she  looked  helplessly  about  for 
Noll.  She  wanted  comfort  pitifully.  .  .  .  But  Noll  was 
laughing  in  the  doorway,  talking  with  old  Jonathan  Felt, 
the  owner  of  his  vessel.  He  had  not  heard,  he  did  not 
sec  her  glance.  Bess  Holt  cried: 


8  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

"  Somebody  light  it  quick.  Roy  Kilcup,  give  me  a 
match.  I'll  light  it  myself.  Don't  look,  Faith!  Oh, 
what  a  shame.  .  .  ." 

Roy  knew  how  his  sister  had  counted  on  that  fire. 
"  I'll  bet  Faith  doesn't  feel  as  though  she  were  really 
married,"  he  laughed.  "  Not  without  a  fire  going.  .  .  . 
Do  you,  Faith?  Better  do  it  over,  Dr.  Brant.  .  .  ." 

Some  one  said  it  was  bad  luck;  a  dozen  voices  cried 
the  some  one  down.  Then,  while  they  were  all  talking 
about  it,  round-faced  Dan'l  Tobey  went  down  on  his  knees 
and  lighted  the  fire  that  was  to  have  illumined  Faith's 
wedding. 

Faith,  her  hand  at  her  throat,  looked  for  Noll  again ; 
but  he  and  old  Jonathan  had  gone  out  to  that  ancient 
demijohn  of  cherry  rum.  .  .  .  Dan'l  was  looking  hun- 
grily at  her;  hungry  for  thanks.  She  smiled  at  him. 
They  were  all  pressing  around  her  again.  .  .  . 

It  was  little  Bess  Holt  who  set  them  moving,  at  last, 
down  to  the  wharf.  Bess  was  the  stage  manager  that 
day ;  every  one  else  was  too  busy  with  his  or  her  own 
concerns.  She  whisked  Faith  away  upstairs  to  change 
her  dress,  and  scolded  the  others  out  of  the  house.  .  .  . 
All  save  Jem  Kilcup  and  Roy.  Roy  had  packing  of  his 
own  to  do ;  he  was  flying  at  it  like  a  terrier.  Jem  would 
stay  as  long  as  he  might  with  Faith.  Noll,  and  Jona- 
than Felt,  and  Noll's  officers  went  to  play  host  at  the 
wedding  supper  on  the  decks  of  the  Sally  Sims.  .  .  . 

Faith's  luggage  had  already  gone  aboard.  When  she 
and  Jem  and  Bess  reached  the  wharf,  the  others  were  at 
the  tables,  under  the  boathouse,  aft.  They  rose,  and 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  9 

pledged  Faith  in  lifted  glasses.  .  .  .  Then  Faith  sat 
down  beside  her  husband,  at  the  head  of  the  board,  and 
old  Jem  settled  morosely  beside  her.  They  ate  and  drank 
merrily. 

Faith  was  very  happy,  dreamily  happy.  She  felt  the 
big  presence  of  her  husband  at  her  side;  and  she  lifted 
her  head  with  pride  in  him,  and  in  this  ship  which  he 
commanded.  He  was  a  man.  .  .  .  Once  or  twice  she 
marked  her  father's  silence ;  and  once  she  touched  his  knee 
with  her  hand  lightly,  in  comfort.  .  .  .  Cap'n  Wing 
made  a  speech.  They  called  on  Jem,  but  Jem  was  in  no 
mind  for  chatter.  They  called  on  Faith ;  she  rose,  and 
smiled  at  them,  and  said  how  happy  she  was,  and  touched 
her  husband's  shoulder  proudly.  .  .  . 

Roy  came,  running,  after  a  time.  .  .  .  And  a  little 
later,  the  tug  whistled  from  the  stream,  and  Cap'n  Wing 
looked  overside,  and  stood  up,  and  lifted  his  hands. 

"Friends,"  he  said  jocosely,  "I'd  like  to  take  you  all 
along.  Come  if  you  want.  But  —  tide's  in.  Them  as 
don't  want  to  go  along  had  best  be  getting  ashore." 

Thus  it  was  ended ;  that  wedding  supper  on  the  deck, 
in  the  late  afternoon,  while  the  flags  floated  overhead,  and 
the  gulls  screamed  across  the  refuse-dotted  waters  of  the 
Harbor,  and  the  tide  whirled  and  eddied  about  the  piles. 
Thus  it  was  ended ;  their  chairs  scraped  upon  the  deck ; 
the  boards  that  had  been  set  upon  boxes  and  trestles  to 
make  tables  and  seats  were  thrust  aside  or  overturned. 
They  swept  about  Faith,  where  she  stood  at  her  husband's 
side,  arm  linked  in  his,  against  the  rail.  .  .  . 

Old  Jem   kissed  her  first   of   all,  kissed  her   roundly, 


10  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

crushing  her  to  his  breast ;  and  she  whispered,  in  his  close 
embrace :  "  It's  all  right,  dad.  Don't  worry.  .  .  .  All 
right.  .  .  .  I'll  bring  you  home  .  .  ." 

He  kissed  her  again,  cutting  short  her  promise.  Kissed 
her,  and  thrust  her  away,  and  stumped  ashore,  and  went 
stockily  off  along  the  wharf  and  out  of  sight,  never  look- 
ing back.  A  solitary  figure;  somewhat  to  be  pitied,  for 
all  his  broad  shoulders  and  his  fine  old  head. 

The  others  in  their  turn,  little  Bess  Holt  last  of  all. 
Bess,  now  that  her  tasks  were  done,  had  her  turn  at  tears. 
She  wept  happily  in  Faith's  arms.  Faith  did  not  weep. 
She  was  too  happy  for  even  the  happiest  of  tears.  She 
patted  Bess's  brown  head,  and  linked  arms  with  the  girl 
while  Bess  climbed  to  the  wharf,  and  they  kissed  again, 
there.  .  .  . 

Then  every  one  waited,  calling,  laughing,  crying,  while 
the  Sally  Sims  was  torn  loose  from  her  moorings.  Cap'n 
Wing  was  another  man  now ;  he  was  never  a  man  to  leave 
his  ship  to  another,  Faith  thought  proudly.  His  com- 
mands rang  through  the  still  air  of  late  afternoon;  his 
eye  saw  the  hawsers  cast  off,  saw  the  tug  take  hold.  .  .  . 

The  Sally  Sims  moved ;  she  moved  so  slowly  that  at  first 
one  must  watch  a  fixed  point  upon  the  wharf  to  be  sure 
she  moved  at  all.  Roy  was  everywhere,  afire  with  zeal 
in  this  new  experience;  his  eyes  were  dancing.  Faith 
stood  aft,  a  little  way  from  her  husband,  calling  to  those 
upon  the  wharf.  The  tug  dragged  the  Sally  stern  first 
into  the  stream,  headed  her  around.  .  .  . 

Last  calls,  last  cries.  .  .  .  The  individual  figures  on  the 
wharf's  end  slowly  merged  into  one  mass,  a  mass  varie- 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  11 

gated  by  the  black  garments  of  the  men,  by  the  gayer 
fabrics  which  the  women  wore.  This  mass  in  turn,  as  the 
Sally  slipped  eastward  toward  the  sea,  became  a  dot  of 
color  against  the  brown  casks  which  piled  the  wharf. 
Faith  took  her  eyes  from  it  to  glance  toward  her  husband ; 
when  she  looked  back  it  was  hard  to  discover  the  dot 
again.  Presently  it  was  gone.  .  .  . 

Men  were  in  the  rigging,  now,  setting  the  big,  square 
sails.  The  wind  began  to  tug  at  them.  The  voice  of  the 
mate,  Mr.  Ham,  roared  up  to  the  men  in  profane  com- 
mands. Cap'n  Wing  stood  stockily  on  wide-spread  legs, 
watching,  joining  his  voice  now  and  then  to  the  uproar. 

The  sea,  presently,  opened  out  before  them,  inviting 
them,  offering  all  its  wide  expanses  to  the  Sally  Sims' 
blunt  bow.  The  Sally  began  to  lift  and  tilt  awkwardly. 
The  tug  had  long  since  dropped  behind ;  they  shaped  their 
course  for  where  the  night  came  up  ahead  of  them.  .  .  . 
They  sailed  steadily  eastward,  into  the  gathering 
gloom.  .  .  . 

Cap'n  Wing  bawled :  "  Mr.  Tobey."  And  Dan'l  came 
aft  to  where  Faith  stood  with  her  husband.  He  did  not 
look  at  her,  so  that  Faith  was  faintly  disquieted.  The 
captain  pointed  to  the  litter  of  planks  and  boxes  and 
dishes  and  food  where  the  wedding  supper  had  been  laid. 
Faith  watched  dreamily,  happily.  .  .  .  She  had  loved  that 
last  gathering  with  her  friends.  .  .  .  There  was  something 
sacred  to  her,  in  this  moment,  even  in  the  ugly  debris  that 
remained.  .  .  . 

But  not  to  Cap'n  Wing.  He  said  harshly,  in  his  voice 
of  a  master : 


12  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

"Hare  that  trash  cleared  up,  Mr.  Tobej.  Sharp, 
now." 

'Trash?"  Faith  was  faintly  unhappy  at  the  word. 
Dan'l  bawled  to  the  men,  and  half  a  dozen  of  them  came 
shuffling  aft.  She  touched  her  husband's  arm.  "  I'm  go- 
ing below,  now,  Noll,"  she  whispered. 

He  nodded.     "  Get  to  bed,"  he  said.     "  I'll  be  down." 
He  had  not  looked  at  her ;  he  was  watching  Dan'l  and 
the  men.     tint  own  eyes  clouded.  .  .  .  Nevertheless,  she 
turned  to  AJjfc  *abin  companion  and  went  below. 


II 

FOR  two  weeks  Faith  had  been  aboard  the  Sally 
Sims,  making  ready  the  tiny  quarters  that  were 
to  be  her  home.  When  she  came  down  into  the 
cabin  now,  it  was  with  a  sense  of  familiarity.  The  plain 
table,  built  about  the  butt  of  the  mizzenmast ;  the  chairs ; 
the  swinging,  whale-oil  lamps.  .  .  .  These  were  old  friends, 
waiting  to  replace  those  other  friends  she  had  left  behind 
in  her  bedroom  at  home.  She  stood  for  a  moment,  at  the 
foot  of  the  cabin  companion,  looking  about  her ;  and  she 
smiled  faintly,  her  hand  at  her  throat.  .  .  . 

She  was  not  lonely,  not  homesick,  not  sorry.  .  .  .  But 
her  smile  seemed  to  appeal  to  these  inanimate  surround- 
ings to  be  good  to  her. 

Then  she  crossed  the  cabin  quietly,  and  went  into  the 
smaller  compartment  across  the  stern  which  was  used  by 
Cap'n  Wing  for  his  books,  his  instruments,  his  scant  hours 
of  leisure.  .  .  .  This  ran  almost  entirely  across  the  stern 
of  the  ship ;  but  it  was  little  more  than  a  corridor.  The 
captain's  cabin  was  on  the  starboard  side,  opening  off 
this  corridor-like  compartment.  There  was  scant  room, 
aft,  aboard  the  Sally  Sims.  The  four  mates  bunked  two 
by  two,  in  cabins  opening  off  the  main  cabin ;  the  mate 
had  no  room  to  himself.  And  by  the  same  token,  there 
was  no  possibility  of  giving  Faith  separate  quarters. 

There  were  two  bunks  in  the  captain's  cabin,  one  above  the 

13 


14  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

other.  The  upper  had  been  built  in,  during  the  last  two 
weeks.  That  was  all.  .  .  . 

Faith  had  not  protested.  She  was  content  that  Noll 
was  hers ;  the  rest  did  not  matter.  She  found  a  measure 
of  glory  in  the  thought  that  she  must  endure  some  hard- 
ships to  be  at  his  side  while  her  man  did  his  work  in  the 
world.  She  was,  after  the  first  pangs,  glad  that  she 
must  make  a  tiny  chest  and  a  half  a  dozen  nails  serve 
her  for  wardrobe  and  dressing-room ;  she  was  glad  that 
she  must  sleep  on  a  thing  like  a  shelf  built  into  the  wall, 
instead  of  her  high,  soft  bed  with  the  canopy  at  home. 
She  was  glad  —  glad  for  life  —  glad  for  Noll  —  glad  for 
everything.  .  .  . 

She  began,  quietly,  to  prepare  herself  for  bed.  And 
while  she  loosened  her  heavy  hair,  and  began  the  long, 
easy  brushing  that  kept  it  so  glossy  and  smooth,  her 
thoughts  ran  back  over  the  swift,  warm  rapture  of  her 
awakening  love  for  Noll.  Big  Noll  Wing.  .  .  .  Her  hus- 
band, now.  .  .  .  She,  his  bride.  .  .  . 

She  had  always  worshiped  Noll,  even  while  she  was  still 
a  school  girl,  her  skirts  short,  her  hair  in  a  long,  thick 
braid.  Noll  was  a  heroic  figure,  a  great  man  who  ap- 
peared at  intervals  from  the  distances  of  ocean,  and  moved 
majestically  about  the  little  world  of  the  town,  and  then 
was  gone  again.  The  man  had  had  the  gift  of  drama ; 
his  deeds  held  that  element  which  lifted  them  above  mere 
exploits  and  made  them  romance.  When  he  was  third 
mate  of  the  old  Bertha,  a  crazy  Islander  tried  to  knife 
him,  and  fleshed  his  blade  in  Noll  Wing's  shoulder,  from 
behind.  Noll  had  wrenched  around  and  broken  the  man's 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  16 

neck  with  a  twist  of  his  hands.  He  had  always  been  a 
hard  man  with  his  hands ;  a  strong  man,  perhaps  a  brutal 
man.  Faith,  hearing  only  glorified  whispers  of  these 
matters,  had  dreamed  of  the  strength  of  him.  She  saw 
this  strength  not  as  a  physical  thing,  but  as  a  thing  spir- 
itual. No  one  man  could  rule  other  men  unless  he  ruled 
them  by  a  superior  moral  strength,  she  knew.  She  loved 
to  think  of  Noll's  strength.  .  .  .  Her  breath  had  caught 
in  ecstasy  of  pain,  that  night  he  first  held  her  close  against 
his  great  chest,  till  she  thought  her  own  ribs  would 
crack.  .  .  . 

Not  Noll's  strength  alone  was  famous.  He  had  been  a 
great  captain,  a  great  man  for  oil.  His  maiden  voyage 
as  skipper  of  his  own  ship  made  that  reputation  for  the 
man.  He  set  sail,  ran  forthwith  into  a  very  sea  of  whales, 
worked  night  and  day,  and  returned  in  three  days  short 
of  three  months  with  a  cargo  worth  thirty-seven  thousand 
dollars.  A  cargo  that  other  men  took  three  years  to 
harvest  from  the  fat  fields  of  the  sea ;  took  three  years  to 
harvest,  and  then  were  like  as  not  to  boast  of  the  harvest- 
ing. Oh,  Noll  Wing  was  a  master  hand  for  sperm  oil; 
a  master  skipper  as  ever  sailed  the  seas.  .  .  . 

He  came  back  thus,  cruise  after  cruise,  and  the  town 
watched  his  footsteps  with  pride  and  envy;  he  walked  the 
streets  with  head  high ;  he  spoke  harshly,  in  tones  of  com- 
mand ;  he  was,  Faith  thought,  a  man.  .  .  . 

She  remembered,  this  night,  her  first  sight  of  him ;  her 
first  remembered  sight.  It  was  when  her  father  came  home 
from  his  last  voyage,  his  chest  crushed,  himself  a  helpless 
man  who  must  lie  abed  long  months  before  he  might  re- 


16  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

gain  a  measure  of  his  ancient  strength  again.  His  ship 
came  in,  down  at  the  wharves,  at  early  dawn ;  and  Faith 
and  Roy,  at  home  with  their  mother,  had  known  nothing 
of  the  matter  till  big  Noll  Wing  came  up  the  hill,  carry- 
ing Jem  Kilcup  in  his  arms  as  a  baby  is  borne.  Their 
mother  opened  the  door,  and  Noll  bore  Jem  upstairs  to 
the  bed  he  was  to  keep  for  so  long.  .  .  .  And  Faith  and 
Roy,  who  had  always  seen  in  their  father  the  mightiest  of 
men,  as  children  do,  marveled  at  Noll  Wing  with  wide 
eyes.  Noll  had  carried  their  father  in  his  arms.  .  .  . 

Faith  was  eleven,  then ;  Roy  not  much  more  than  half 
as  old.  While  Noll's  ship  remained  in  port,  she  and  Roy 
had  stolen  down  often  to  the  wharves  to  catch  a  stolen 
sight  of  the  great  man ;  they  had  hid  among  the  casks  to 
watch  him ;  they  had  heard  with  awe  his  thundering  com- 
mands. .  .  .  And  then  he  sailed  away.  When  he  came 
again,  Faith  was  thirteen;  and  she  tagged  his  heels,  and 
he  bought  her  candy,  and  took  her  on  his  knee,  and  played 
with  her.  .  .  .  Those  weeks  of  his  stay  were  witchery  to 
Faith.  Her  mother  died  during  that  time,  and  Noll  was 
her  comforter.  .  .  .  The  big  man  could  be  gentle,  in  those 
days,  and  very  kind.  .  .  . 

He  came  next  when  Faith  was  sixteen;  and  the  faint 
breath  of  bursting  womanhood  within  her  made  Faith 
shy.  When  a  girl  passes  from  childhood,  and  feels  for 
the  first  time  the  treasures  of  womanhood  within  herself, 
she  guards  that  treasure  zealously,  like  a  secret  thing. 
Faith  was  afraid  of  Noll ;  she  avoided  him ;  and  when  they 
met,  her  tongue  was  tied.  .  .  .  He  teased  her,  and  she 
writhed  in  helpless  misery.  .  .  . 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  17 

Nineteen  at  his  next  coining;  but  young  Dan'l  Tobey, 
risen  to  be  fourth  mate  on  that  cruise  with  Noll,  laid  siege 
to  her.  She  liked  Dan'l;  she  thought  he  was  a  pleasant 
boy.  .  .  .  But  when  she  saw  Noll,  now  and  then,  she  was 
silent  before  him ;  and  Noll  had  no  eyes  to  see  what  was 
in  the  eyes  of  Faith.  He  was,  at  that  time,  in  the  tower  of 
his  strength;  a  mighty  man,  with  flooding  pulses  that 
drove  him  restlessly.  He  still  liked  children ;  but  Faith 
was  no  longer  a  child.  She  was  a  woman;  and  Noll  had 
never  had  more  than  casual  use  for  women.  He  saw  her, 
now  and  then  ;  nothing  more.  .  .  . 

Nevertheless  this  seeing  was  enough  so  that  Dan'l  To- 
bey had  no  chance  at  all.  Dan'l  went  so  far  as  to  beg  her 
to  marry  him ;  but  she  shook  her  head.  ..."  Wait  .  .  ." 
she  whispered.  "  No.  No.  .  .  .  Wait.  .  .  ." 

"You  mean  —  you  will  —  some  day?"  he  clamored. 
And  she  was  frightened,  and  cried  out : 

"  No.  I  don't  mean  anything,  Dan'l.  Please  —  don't 
ask  me.  .  .  .  Wait.  .  .  ." 

He  told  her,  doggedly,  the  day  he  sailed  away,  that  he 
would  ask  her  again  when  he  came  home.  And  Faith,  sure 
that  she  would  never  love  Dan'l,  was  so  sorry  for  him  that 
she  kissed  him  good-by;  kissed  him  on  the  forehead.  .  .  . 
The  boy  was  blind ;  he  read  in  that  kiss  an  augury  of  good, 
and  went  away  with  heart  singing.  He  did  not  know  the 
philosophy  of  kisses.  Let  a  girl  permit  a  man  to  kiss 
her  good-by  —  on  cheek,  or  forehead,  or  ear  tip,  or 
hand,  or  lip,  or  what  you  will  —  and  there's  still  a 
chance  for  him ;  but  when  she  kisses  him,  sisterly,  upon 
the  forehead,  the  poor  chap  is  lost  and  has  as  well  make 


18  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

up  his  mind  to't.  Dan'l  did  not  know,  so  went  happily 
away.  .  .  . 

Noll  Wing,  on  that  cruise,  passed  the  great  divide  of 
life  without  knowing  it.  Till  then  he  had  been  a  strong 
man,  proud  in  his  strength,  sufficient  unto  himself,  alone 
without  being  either  lonely  or  afraid ;  but  when  he  came 
home,  there  was  stirring  in  him  for  the  first  time  a  pang 
of  loneliness.  .  .  .  This  was  the  advance  courier  of  age, 
come  suddenly  upon  him. 

He  did  not  understand  this ;  he  was  not  even  conscious 
of  the  change  in  him.  He  left  his  ship,  and  climbed  the 
hill  to  his  own  house  where  his  sister  waited  for  him ;  and 
he  submitted  to  her  timid  ministrations  as  he  had  never 
submitted  before.  He  found  it,  somehow,  faintly  pleas- 
ant. ...  A  woman,  puttering  about  him.  .  .  .  But  com- 
fortable, just  the  same,  he  told  himself.  A  man  gets  tired 
of  men.  .  .  . 

He  had  never  tired  of  men  before,  never  tired  of  him- 
self before.  Now  there  was  something  in  him  that  was 
weary.  He  wanted  comfort.  He  was  worn  with  Spartan 
living;  he  was  sick  of  rough  life.  He  hungered  for  soft 
ways,  for  gentle  things.  .  .  .  Some  one  to  mend  his 
socks.  .  .  .  Always  wearing  full  of  holes.  .  .  .  Some  one 
to  talk  to,  on  ship  board,  besides  the  rough  crew  and  the 
respectful  officers.  .  .  . 

This  unrest  was  stirring  in  him  when  he  went  to  see 
old  Jem  Kilcup,  and  Faith  opened  the  door  to  him,  and 
bade  him  come  in. 

He  came  in,  tugging  at  his  cap ;  and  his  eyes  rested  on 
her  pleasantly.  She  was  tall,  as  women  go ;  but  not  too 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  19 

tall.  And  she  was  rounded,  and  strong,  and  firm.  Her 
hair  was  thick,  and  soft ;  and  her  voice  was  low  and  full. 
When  she  bade  him  good  evening,  her  voice  thrummed 
some  cord  in  the  man.  A  pulse  pricked  faster  in  his 
throat.  .  .  . 

He  had  come  to  see  Jem ;  Jem  was  not  at  home.  Faith 
told  him  this.  In  the  old  days,  he  would  have  turned  and 
stamped  away.  Now  he  hesitated;  then  looked  about  for 
a  chair,  sat  down.  And  Faith,  who  for  the  life  of  her 
could  not  hold  still  her  heart  when  Noll  Wing  was  near, 
sat  in  a  chair  that  faced  him,  and  they  fell  a-talking  to- 
gether. 

He  talked,  as  men  will  do,  of  himself.  Nothing  could 
have  pleased  Faith  better.  Nor  Noll,  for  that  matter. 
.  .  .  He  loved  to  talk  of  himself;  and  for  an  hour  they 
sat  together,  while  his  words  bore  her  across  the  seven 
seas,  through  the  tumult  of  storm,  through  the  bloody 
flurry  of  the  fighting  whale,  through  the  tense  silence  of 
a  ship  where  sullen  men  plan  evil.  .  .  .  She  trembled  as 
she  listened;  not  with  fear  for  him,  but  with  pride  in  him. 
She  was  already  as  proud  of  Noll  as  though  he  belonged 
to  her. 

Thus  began  their  strange  courtship.  It  was  scarce 
conscious,  on  either  side.  Noll  took  comfort  in  coming 
to  her,  in  talking  to  her,  in  watching  her.  .  .  .  His  pulses 
stirred  at  watching  her.  And  Faith  made  herself  fair 
for  his  coming,  and  made  him  welcome  when  he  came.  .  .  . 

She  was  his  woman,  heart  and  soul,  from  the  beginning. 
As  for  Noll,  he  found  her  company  increasingly  pleasant. 
She  was  a  better  listener  than  a  man ;  his  tales  were  fresh 


*d  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

and  new  to  her.  At  the  same  time,  knowing  him  better, 
she  began  to  mother  him  in  her  thoughts,  as  women  will. 
She  began  to  mother  him,  and  to  guide  him.  Men  need 
guiding,  ever.  Noll  might  never  have  known  what  he 
wanted ;  but  Faith  was  no  weak  girl.  She  had  the  courage 
to  reach  out  her  hand  for  the  thing  that  was  dear  to  her ; 
she  was  not  ashamed  of  her  heart.  .  .  . 

They  came  together  by  chance  one  night  when  the 
moon  played  hide  and  seek  with  dark  clouds  in  the  sky; 
they  met  upon  the  street,  as  Faith  came  home  with  Bess 
Holt ;  and  Noll  walked  with  them  to  Bess's  house,  and  then 
he  and  Faith  went  on  together.  She  led  him  to  talk  of 
himself,  as  ever.  When  they  came  to  her  gate,  some  sud- 
den impulse  of  unaccustomed  modesty  seized  the  man. 
He  said  hoarsely : 

"  But  pshaw,  Faith.  .  .  .  You  must  be  sick  of  my  old 
yarns  by  now.  .  .  ." 

She  was  silent  for  a  moment,  there  before  him.  'Then 
she  lifted  her  eyes,  smiling  in  the  moonlight,  and  she  quoted 
softly  and  provokingly : 

"'.  .  .  She  thank'd  me, 

And  bade  me,  if  I  had  a  friend  that  loved  her, 
I  should  but  teach  him  how  to  tell  my  story, 
And  that  would  woo  her  .  .  .'" 

Noll  Wing  was  no  man  of  little  reading.  He  under- 
stood, and  cried  out  hoarsely.  .  .  . 

Twas  then,  the  moon  providentially  disappearing  be- 
hind a  cloud,  that  he  caught  her  and  held  her  till  her  ribs 
were  like  to  crack,  while  his  lips  came  fumbling  down  to 
find  her  own.  .  .  . 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  21 

Afterward,  Faith  hid  her  eyes  in  shame,  and  scolded 
herself  for  frowardness  until  he  reassured  her ;  she  bade 
him,  then,  pay  court  in  due  form,  at  her  feet.  He  knelt 
before  her,  the  big,  strong  man.  .  .  .  And  her  eyes  filled, 
and  she  knelt  with  him. 

It  was  in  her  heart  that  she  was  pledging  herself 
sacredly,  with  this  man,  forevermore. 

Followed  the  swift  days  of  preparation;  a  pleasant 
flurry,  through  which  Faith  moved  calmly,  her  thoughts 
far  off.  Old  Jem  Kilcup  was  wroth;  he  knew  Noll 
Wing,  and  tried  to  tell  Faith  something  of  this  knowl- 
edge. But  she,  proud  and  straight,  would  have  none 
of  it;  she  commanded  old  Jem  into  silence,  then  teased 
him  into  smiles  till  he  consented  and  bade  her  take  her 
man. 

Roy  was  immensely  proud  of  her.  When  it  was  de- 
cided that  she  should  go  away  with  Noll  upon  the  Sally 
Sims,  Roy  begged  to  go.  Begged  fruitlessly,  at  first; 
for  Noll  Wing,  having  won  the  thing  he  wanted,  was  al- 
ready beginning  to  wonder  whether  he  really  wanted  it 
at  all.  But  in  the  end,  he  consented.  .  .  .  Roy  was  to  go 
with  his  sister.  .  .  . 

Bess  Holt.  .  .  .  Those  were  wild  days  for  Bess ;  wild 
days  of  constant,  fluttering  excitement.  She  buzzed  about 
Faith  like  a  humming  bird  about  a  flower;  and  Faith 
quietly  gave  herself  to  the  current  of  the  days.  She  was 
so  happy  that  even  Dan'l  Tobey  jcould  not  cloud  her  eyes. 
There  was  one  hot  hour  with  Dan'l,  when  he  accused,  and 
swore,  and  begged.  But  Faith  had  strength  in  her,  so 


22  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

that  in  the  end  she  conquered  him  and  held  him.  .   .  .  He 
was  silenced;  only  his  eyes  still  accused  her.  .  .   . 

So.  .  .  .  Marriage !  It  was  done,  now.  Done.  .  .  . 
She  was  away,  with  Noll,  the  world  and  life  before  them. 
.  .  .  Brave  Noll ;  strong  Noll.  .  .  .  She  loved  him  so.  ... 

When  he  came  down  into  the  cabin,  she  was  waiting  for 
him.  She  had  put  on  a  dressing-gown,  a  warm  and 
woolly  thing  that  she  and  Bess  had  made  of  a  heavy  blan- 
ket, to  protect  her  against  the  chill  winds  of  the  sea. 
Her  braids  were  upon  her  shoulders ;  her  hair  parted 
evenly  above  her  broad  brow.  Her  eyes  were  steady  and 
sweet  and  calm.  .  .  .  Noll,  studying  her  while  his  heart 
leaped,  saw  where  the  dressing-gown  parted  at  her  throat 
a  touch  of  white,  a  spray  of  broidered  blossoms  which 
Faith  herself  had  made,  with  every  stitch  a  world  of  hope 
and  dreams.  .  .  . 

He  took  off  his  cap,  and  his  coat  and  vest.  He  wore 
suspenders.  When  Faith  saw  them,  she  shivered  in  spite 
of  herself.  They  were  such  hopelessly  ugly  things.  .  .  . 
She  lifted  her  eyes  from  them,  came  closer  to  him.  He 
took  her  roughly  in  his  arms,  and  she  lifted  one  arm  and 
drew  it  around  his  thick  neck,  and  drew  his  face  down. 

"  Ah,  Noll  .  .  ."  she  whispered  proudly. 


Ill 

FAITH  WING  fitted  easily  into  the  life  aboard  the 
Sully  Sims,  as  the  whaler  worked  eastward  be- 
fore starting  on  the  long  southward  slant  that 
would  bring  her  at  last  to  her  true  hunting  grounds.  The 
mates  saw  her  daily  as  a  pleasant  figure  in  the  life  of  the 
cabin ;  the  boat-steerers  and  the  seamen  and  greenies 
caught  glimpses  of  her,  now  and  then,  when  she  sat  on 
deck  with  sewing,  or  a  book,  or  with  idle  hands  and 
thoughtful  eyes.  Faith,  on  her  part,  studied  the  men 
about  her,  and  watched  over  Noll,  and  gave  herself  to  the 
task  of  being  a  good  wife  and  helpmate  to  him. 

The  first  weeks  of  the  cruise  were  arduous  ones,  as  they 
are  apt  to  be  on  a  whaler ;  for  of  the  whole  crew,  more 
than  half  were  green  hands  recruited  from  the  gutters, 
the  farms,  the  slums.  .  .  .  Weak  men,  in  many  cases; 
rotted  by  wrong  living;  slack-muscled,  jangle-nerved. 
Weak  men  who  must  be  made  strong;  for  there  is  no  place 
for  weakness  in  a  whaler's  crew. 

It  was  the  task  of  the  mates  to  make  these  weaklings 
into  men.  The  greenies  must  learn  the  rigging  ;  they  must 
learn  their  duties  in  response  to  each  command ;  they  must 
be  drilled  to  their  parts  in  the  boats  and  prepared  for  the 
hunts  that  were  to  come.  Your- novice  at  sea  has  never 
an  easy  time  of  it ;  he  learns  in  a  hard  school,  and  this  is 

apt  to  be  especially  true  upon  a  whaler.     While  the  meth- 

23 


24.  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

ods  of  the  officers  differed  according  to  the  habit  of  the 
officer,  they  were  never  gentle. 

Cap'n  Wing  watched  over  all  this,  took  a  hand  here  and 
there.  And  Faith,  quietly  in  the  background,  saw  a  new 
Noll,  saw  in  each  of  the  officers  a  man  she  had  never  seen 
ashore. 

Noll  was  the  master,  the  commander.  When  his  voice 
bellowed  along  the  decks,  even  the  greenest  man  leaped 
and  desperately  strove  in  his  efforts  to  obey.  Noll  was 
the  dominant  man ;  and  Faith  was  pleasantly  afraid  of 
him  and  his  roaring  tones.  .  .  .  She  loved  being  afraid 
of  him.  .  .  . 

There  were  four  officers  aboard  the  Sally  Sims.  These 
four,  with  Roy  —  in  his  capacity  of  ship's  boy  —  lived 
with  Noll  and  Faith  in  the  main  cabin.  They  were  Faith's 
family.  Big  Henry  Ham,  the  mate,  was  a  man  of  slow 
wit  but  quick  fist ;  a  man  with  a  gift  of  stubbornness  that 
passed  for  mastery.  The  men  of  his  watch,  and  especially 
the  men  of  his  boat,  feared  him  acutely.  He  taught  them 
this  fear  in  the  first  week  of  the  cruise,  by  the  simple 
teachings  of  blows.  Thereafter  he  relaxed  this  chastise- 
ment, but  held  a  clenched  fist  always  over  their  cowering 
heads.  He  had  what  passed  for  a  philosophy  of  life,  to 
justify  this.  When  Faith  asked  him,  pleasantly,  one 
day,  whether  it  was  necessary  to  strike  the  men,  he  told 
her  with  ponderous  condescension  that  no  other  measures 
would  suffice. 

"  They've  no  proper  brains  at  all,  ma'am,"  he  explained. 
"  Their  brains  is  all  in  their  faces ;  and  when  they  don't 
jump  at  the  word,  your  fist  in  their  mouth  jumps  them. 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  «5 

And  next  time,  they  jump  without  it.  That's  the  whole 
thing  of  it,  ma'am." 

And  he  added  further :  "  They're  children,  ma'am." 
He  smiled  slyly.  "  When  you've  babies  of  your  own, 
you'll  understand.  Take  the  switch  to  'em,  ma'am,  till 
they  learn  what  it  is.  Then  they'll  mind  without,  and 
things'll  go  all  smooth." 

He  was,  after  a  fashion,  a  Pecksniffian  man,  this  Henry 
Ham.  Faith  did  not  like  him,  but  she  found  it  hard  not 
to  respect  him.  He  was,  after  all,  efficient. 

Dan'l  Tobey,  the  second  mate,  was  a  man  of  another 
sort.  Faith  was  startled  and  somewhat  amused  to  find 
what  a  difference  there  was  between  Dan'l  afloat  and  Dan'l 
ashore.  Ashore,  he  was  a  round-faced,  freckled,  sandy- 
haired  boy  with  no  guile  in  him;  an  impetuous,  somewhat 
helpless  and  inarticulate  boy.  Afloat,  he  was  a  man; 
reticent,  speaking  little,  speaking  to  the  point  when  he 
spoke  at  all.  .  .  .  Shrewd,  reading  the  character  of  his 
men,  playing  upon  them  as  a  musician  plays  upon  his 
instruments.  Of  the  five  men  in  his  boat,  not  one  but 
might  have  whipped  him  in  a  stand-up  fight.  Nevertheless, 
he  ruled  them.  This  one  he  dominated  by  cutting  and 
sarcastic  words  that  left  the  man  abashed  and  helpless ; 
that  one  he  flattered;  another  he  joked  into  quick  obedi- 
ence. .  .  .  The  fourth,  a  surly  giant  who  might  have 
proved  unmanageable,  he  gave  into  the  keeping  of  his 
boat-steerer,  a  big  Islander  called  Yella'  Boy.  He  taught 
Yella'  Boy  to  fear  the  man,  provoked  a  fight  between, 
them  in  which  the  giant  was  soundly  whipped,  and  there- 
after used  the  one  against  the  other  and  kept  them  both 


26  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

in  balance  eternally.  Dan'l  had,  Faith  decided,  more 
mental  ability  than  any  man  aboard  —  short  of  her  Noll. 
He  ruled  by  his  wits ;  and  this  the  more  surprised  her 
because  she  had  always  thought  Dan'l  more  than  a  little 
stupid.  She  watched  the  unfolding  of  the  new  Dan'l 
with  keenest  interest  as  the  weeks  dragged  by. 

James  Tichel,  the  third  mate,  was  a  thin  little  old  man 
given  to  occasional  bursts  of  tigerish  rage  in  which  he 
was  the  match  for  any  man  aboard.  In  his  second  week, 
he  took  the  biggest  man  in  his  boat  and  beat  him  into  a 
helpless,  clucking  wreck  of  bruises.  Thereafter,  there 
was  no  need  for  him  to  strike  a  second  time.  Faith  won- 
dered whether  these  rages  to  which  the  little  man  gave 
way  were  genuine,  whether  he  gave  way  because  he  chose 
to  do  so.  In  the  cabin,  he  was  distinguished  for  a  dry 
and  acid  wit.  Faith  did  not  like  him,  even  when  she 
guessed  the  secret  fear  of  the  little  man  that  he  was  pass- 
ing his  usefulness,  that  he  was  growing  too  old  to  serve. 
He  told  her,  once,  in  a  moment  of  confidence,  that  he 
had  sailed  as  third  mate  for  fourteen  years,  and  once  as 
second.  .  .  . 

"But  never  as  mate;  nor  as  skipper,  ma'am,"  he 
mourned. 

She  tried  to  comfort  him.  "  You  will,  some  day,"  she 
told  him.  "  Every  man's  chance  must  come.  .  .  ." 

He  chuckled  acridly.  "  Aye  —  but  what  if  he's  dead 
afore  it?  " 

Willis  Cox  was  fourth  mate.  He  was  a  youngster; 
this  his  first  cruise  in  the  cabin.  He  had  been  promoted 
from  the  fo'c's'le  by  Noll  Wing  on  Noll's  last  voyage. 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  £7 

By  the  same  token,  he  worshiped  Noll  as  a  demigod,  with 
the  enthusiasm  of  youth;  and  a  jealousy  not  unlike  the 
jealousy  of  women  made  him  dislike  Faith,  at  first,  and 
resent  her  presence  aboard.  No  one  could  long  dislike 
Faith,  however.  In  the  end,  he  included  her  in  his  wor- 
ship of  Noll,  and  gave  her  all  his  loyalty. 

Roy,  in  these  new  surroundings,  flourished.  He  was 
tireless,  always  stirring  about  the  ship  or  clambering  in 
the  rigging,  drinking  in  new  impressions  like  a  sponge. 
He  and  Faith,  as  is  apt  to  be  the  case  between  brother 
and  sister,  fought  each  other  constantly,  bickering  and 
striving  back  and  forth.  Faith  had  somewhat  outgrown 
this  way  of  childhood ;  but  Roy  was  still  a  boy,  and  Faith 
felt  toward  him  at  times  the  exasperation  which  a  mother 
feels  toward  a  child.  It  came  to  pass,  in  the  early 
stages  of  the  voyage,  that  Roy  included  Noll  Wing  in  his 
warfare  against  Faith;  and  he  turned  to  Dan'l  Tobey. 
Between  Dan'l  and  the  boy,  a  strange  friendship  arose, 
so  that  Faith  often  saw  them  talking  together,  Roy  chat- 
tering while  Dan'l  listened  flatteringly.  Faith,  ashore, 
had  liked  Dan'l ;  she  was  a  little  afraid  of  the  new  man 
he  had  become,  since  they  sailed.  Nevertheless,  she  was 
pleased  that  Roy  liked  him.  .  .  . 

All  these  men  had  been  changed,  in  subtle  ways,  by 
their  coming  to  sea.  Faith,  during  the  first  weeks,  was 
profoundly  puzzled  and  interested  by  this  transformation. 
There  was  a  new  strength  in  all  of  them,  which  she  marked 
and  admired.  At  the  same  timet  there  were  manifesta- 
tions at  which  she  was  disquieted. 

Noll  Wing  —  her  Noll  —  had  changed  with  the  rest. 


28  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

He  had  changed  not  only  in  his  every-day  bearing,  but 
in  his  relations  with  her.  She  was  troubled,  from  the 
very  beginning,  by  these  changes;  and  she  was  troubled 
by  her  own  reactions  to  them. 

Noll,  for  instance,  liked  to  come  down  to  his  cabin 
in  his  times  of  leisure  and  take  off  his  coat  and  vest  and 
open  his  shirt  at  the  throat  and  lie  down.  Sometimes  he 
took  off  his  shoes.  Usually,  at  such  times,  he  went  to 
sleep ;  and  Faith,  who  sometimes  read  aloud  to  him,  would 
stop  her  reading  when  Noll  began  to  snore,  and  look  at 
her  husband,  and  try  to  convince  herself  he  was  good  to 
look  upon.  She  learned  to  know,  line  by  line,  the  slack 
folds  of  his  cheeks  when  he  lay  thus,  utterly  relaxed.  The 
meandering  of  the  little  purple  veins  beneath  his  skin 
fascinated  her  and  held  her  eyes.  There  were  little,  stiff 
hairs  in  his  ears,  and  in  his  nostrils ;  and  where  his  shirt 
was  open  at  the  throat  she  could  glimpse  the  dark  growth 
upon  his  broad  chest.  His  suspenders  pressed  furrows 
in  the  soft,  outer  covering  of  flesh  which  padded  the 
muscles  of  his  shoulders.  He  was,  by  habit,  a  cleanly 
man ;  but  he  was  at  the  same  time  full-fleshed  and  full- 
blooded,  and  there  was  always  about  him  a  characteristic 
and  not  necessarily  unpleasant  odor  of  clean  perspiration. 
At  times,  as  she  sat  beside  him  while  he  slept  thus,  Faith 
tried  to  tell  herself  she  liked  this ;  at  times  it  frankly  re- 
volted her,  so  that  she  was  ashamed  of  her  own  revolt.  .  .  . 

She  had  worshiped  the  strength  of  Noll ;  she  was  in 
danger  of  discovering  that  at  too  close  range,  that 
strength  became  grossness. 

The   pitiless   intimacies    of   their    life    together   in   the 


cabin  of  the  Sally  Sims  were  hard  for  Faith.  They 
shared  two  small  rooms ;  and  Noll  must  be  up  and  down 
at  all  hours  of  day  and  night,  when  the  weather  was  bad, 
or  the  business  of  whaling  engrossed  him.  Faith,  with- 
out being  vain,  had  that  reverence  and  respect  for  her- 
self which  goes  by  the  name  of  modesty.  Her  body  was 
as  sacred  to  her  as  her  soul.  The  necessity  that  they 
were  under  of  dressing  and  undressing  in  a  tiny  room  not 
eight  feet  long  was  a  steady  torment  to  her.  .  .  . 

She  did  not  blame  Noll  for  what  unhappiness  there  wa.s 
in  these  matters ;  she  blamed  herself  for  over-sensitiveness, 
and  tried  to  teach  herself  to  endure  these  things  as  a 
part  of  her  task  of  sharing  the  rigors  of  Noll's  daily  toil. 
But  there  were  times  when  even  the  nakedness  of  Noll's 
bald  head  revolted  her. 

She  had  been,  when  she  married,  prepared  for  disillu- 
sionment. Faith  was  not  a  child ;  she  was  a  woman.  She 
had  the  wisdom  to  know  that  no  man  is  a  heroic  figure  in 
a  night  shirt.  .  .  .  But  she  was  not  prepared  to  discover 
that  Noll,  who  walked  among  men  as  a  master,  could  fret 
at  his  wife  like  a  nervous  woman. 

This  fretful  querulousness  manifested  itself  more  than 
once  in  the  early  stages  of  the  voyage.  For  Noll  was 
growing  old,  and  growing  old  a  little  before  his  time  be- 
cause he  had  spent  his  life  too  freely.  He  was,  at  times, 
as  querulous  as  a  complaining  old  man.  Because  he  was 
apt  to  be  profane,  in  these  moods,  Faith  tried  to  tell  her- 
self that  they  were  the  stormy  outbreaks  of  a  strong 
man.  .  .  .  But  she  knew  better.  When  Noll,  after  they 
lost  their  second  whale,  growled  to  her: 


80  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

"  Damn  Tichel.  .  .  .  The  man's  losing  his  pith.  You'd 
think  a  man  like  him  could  strike  a  whale  and  not  let  it 
get  away.  .  .  ."  Faith  knew  this  was  no  mere  outbreak 
against  Tichel,  but  an  out  and  out  whine. 

She  knew  this,  but  would  not  admit  it,  even  in  her 
thoughts. 

Another  matter  troubled  her.  Noll  Wing  was  a 
drinker.  She  had  always  known  that.  It  was  a  part  of 
his  strength,  she  thought,  to  be  able  to  drink  strong 
liquor  as  a  man  should.  But  aboard  ship  she  found  that 
he  drank  constantly,  that  there  was  always  the  sickly 
sweet  smell  of  alcohol  about  him.  .  .  .  And  at  times  he 
drank  to  stupefaction,  and  slept,  log-like,  while  Faith 
laj  wide-eyed  and  ashamed  for  him  in  the  bunk  below  his. 
She  was  sorry ;  but  because  she  trusted  in  Noll's  strength 
and  wisdom,  she  made  no  attempt  to  interfere. 

She  had  expected  that  marriage  would  shatter  some 
of  her  illusions ;  and  when  her  expectations  were  fulfilled 
and  far  exceeded,  she  thrust  her  unhappiness  loyally  be- 
hind her,  and  clung  the  closer  to  big  Noll,  striving  to 
lend  her  strength  to  him. 

More  than  once,  when  Noll  fretted  at  her  while  others 
were  about,  she  saw  Dan'l  Tobey's  eyes  upon  her ;  and 
at  such  times  she  took  care  to  look  serene  and  proud. 
Dan'l  must  not  so  much  as  guess  it,  if  Noll  should  ever 
make  her  unhappy.  .  .  . 

But.  .  .  .  Noll  make  her  unhappy  ?  The  very  thought 
was  absurd.  He  was  her  Noll;  she  was  his.  When  they 
were  wedded,  she  had  given  herself  to  him,  and  taken 
him  as  a  part  of  herself,  utterly  and  without  reservation. 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  31 

He  might  fail  her  high  expectations  in  little  things ;  she 
might  fail  him.  But  for  all  that,  they  were  one,  one 
body  and  soul  so  long  as  they  both  should  live. 

She  was  as  loyal  to  him,  even  in  her  thoughts,  as  to 
herself.  For  this  was  Faith;  she  was  Noll's  forever. 

She  thought  that  what  she  felt  was  hidden ;  but  Dan'l 
Tobey  had  eyes  to  see.  And  now  and  then,  when  in  crafty 
ways  he  led  big  Noll  to  act  unworthily  before  her,  he 
watched  for  the  shadow  that  crossed  her  face,  and  smiled 
in  his  own  sly  soul. 


IV 

THERE  was,  in  Dan'l  Tobey's  boat,  a  little  man 
named  Mauger.  It  was  he  whom  Dan'l  ruled  by 
a  superior  tongue,  deriding  the  man  and  scorch- 
ing him  with  jests  that  made  Mauger  crimson  with  shame 
for  himself.  Mauger  was  a  greenie;  he  was  a  product 
of  the  worst  conditions  of  the  city.  He  was  little  and 
shrunken  and  thin,  and  his  shoulders  curled  forward  as 
though  to  hug  and  shelter  his  weak  chest.  Nevertheless, 
there  was  a  rat-like  spirit  in  the  man,  and  a  rat-like  gleam 
in  his  black  little  eyes.  He  was  one  of  those  men  who  in- 
spire dislike,  even  when  they  strive  to  win  the  liking  of 
their  fellows.  The  very  fo'c's'le  baited  him. 

It  was  through  Mauger  that  the  first  open  clash  be- 
tween Cap'n  Wing  and  Faith,  his  wife,  was  brought  to 
pass;  and  the  thing  happened  in  this  wise. 

Dan'l  Tobey  knew  how  to  handle  Mauger ;  and  he  kept 
the  little  man  in  a  continual  ferment  of  helpless  anger. 
When  they  were  off  in  the  boats  after  a  whale,  or  merely 
for  the  sake  of  boat  drill,  Dan'l  gave  all  his  attention 
to  Mauger,  who  rowed  tub  oar  in  Dan'l's  boat. 

"  Now  if  you'll  not  mind,  Mauger,"  he  would  say, 
"  just  put  your  strength  into  the  stroke  there.  Just  a 
trifle  of  it.  Gently,  you  understand,  for  we  must  not 
break  the  oars.  But  lean  to  it,  Mauger.  Lean  to  it, 

little  man." 

32 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  36 

And  Manger  strove  till  the  veins  stood  out  upon  his 
narrow  forehead,  and  his  black  little  eyes  gleamed.  .  .  . 
And  within  him  boiled  and  boiled  a  vast  revolt,  a  hatred 
of  Dan'l.  Again  and  again,  he  was  on  the  point  of  an 
open  outbreak;  he  cursed  between  his  teeth,  and  slav- 
ered, and  thought  of  the  bliss  of  sinking  his  nails  in  Danl's 
smooth  throat.  .  .  .  The  wrath  in  the  man  gathered  like 
a  tempest.  .  .  . 

But  always  Dan'l  pricked  the  bubble  of  this  wrath  with 
some  sly  word  that  left  Mauger  helpless  and  bewil- 
dered. .  .  . 

He  set  the  man  to  scrub  the  decks,  amidships,  one  day 
after  an  eight}7  barrel  bull  whale  had  been  tried  out. 
There  were  other  men  at  work,  scrubbing ;  but  Dan'l  gave 
all  his  attention  to  Mauger.  He  leaned  against  the  rail, 
and  smiled  cheerfully  at  the  little  man,  and  spoke  caus- 
tically. .  .  . 

" —  not  used  to  the  scrub  brush,  Mauger.  That's 
plain  to  see.  But  you'll  learn  its  little  ways.  .  .  .  Give 
you  time.  .  .  ." 

And.  ..."  Lend  a  little  weight  to  it  on  the  thrust, 
little  man.  Put  your  pith  into  it.  .  .  ." 

And.  ..."  Here's  a  spot,  here  by  my  foot,  that  needs 
attention.  .  .  .  Come.  .  .  .  No,  yonder.  .  .  .  No,  be- 
yond that  again.  .  .  .  So.  .  .  ." 

Or.  ..."  See,  now,  how  the  Portugee  there 
scrubs.  .  .  ."  And  when  Mauger  looked  toward  the 
Portugee,  Dan'l  rasped :  "  Come.  .  .  .  Don't  be  looking 
up  from  your  tasks,  little  man.  Attention,  there.  .  .  ." 

This  continued  until  Mauger,  fretted  and  tormented  and 


34  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

wild  with  the  furj  of  a  helpless  thing,  was  minded  to  rise 
and  fling  himself  at  Dan'l's  round,  freckled  face.  .  .  .  And 
im  that  final  moment  before  the  outbreak  must  surely  have 
come,  Dan'l  said  pleasantly: 

"  So.  .  .  .  That  is  nicely.  Go  below  now,  Mauger,  and 
rest.  Ye've  worked  well.  .  .  ." 

And  the  kindliness  of  his  tone  robbed  Mauger  of  all 
wrath,  so  that  the  little  man  crept  forward,  and  down  to 
his  bunk,  and  fairly  sobbed  there  with  rage,  and  nerves, 
and  general  bewilderment. 

Dan'l  was  the  man's  master,  fair.  .  .  . 

This  was  one  side  of  the  matter ;  Cap'n  Noll  Wing  was 
om.  the  other  side. 

Noll  Wing  had  been  harassed  by  the  difficulties  of  the 
early  weeks  of  the  cruise.  It  seemed  to  the  man  that  the 
whole  world  combined  to  torment  him.  He  was,  for  one 
thing,  a  compound  of  rasping  nerves ;  the  slightest  mishap 
on  the  Sally  Sims  preyed  on  his  mind ;  the  least  slackness 
on  the  part  of  the  mates,  the  least  error  by  the  men  sent 
him  into  a  futile  storm  of  anger.  .  .  . 

Even  toward  Faith,  he  blew  hot,  blew  cold.  .  .  .  There 
were  times  when  he  felt  the  steadfast  love  she  gave  him 
was  like  a  burden  hung  about  his  neck ;  and  he  wished  he 
might  cast  it  off,  and  wished  he  had  never  married  her, 
and  wished  ...  a  thousand  things.  These  were  the  days 
when  the  old  strength  of  the  man  reasserted  itself,  when 
he  held  his  head  high,  and  would  have  defied  the  world. 
.  .  .  But  there  were  other  hours,  when  he  was  spiritually 
bowed  by  the  burdens  of  his  task;  and  in  these  hours  it 
seemed  to  him  Faith  was  his  only  reliance,  his  only  sup- 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  35 

port.  He  leaned  upon  her  as  a  man  leans  upon  a  staff. 
She  was  now  a  nagging  burden,  now  a  peaceful  haven  of 
rest  to  which  he  could  retreat  from  all  the  world.  .  .  . 

If  he  felt  thus  toward  Faith,  whom,  in  his  way,  the  man 
did  love,  how  much  more  unstable  was  his  attitude  toward 
the  men  about  him.  In  his  relations  with  them,  he  alter- 
nated between  storming  anger  and  querulous  complaint. 
Once,  when  they  were  hauling  up  to  the  mainhead  a  blan- 
ket strip  of  blubber  from  a  small  cow  whale,  the  tackle 
gave  and  let  the  whole  strip  snap  down  like  a  smothering 
blanket  of  rubber.  .  .  .  The  old  Noll  Wing  would  have 
leaped  into  the  resulting  tangle  and  brought  order  out 
of  it  with  half  a  dozen  sharp  commands,  with  a  curt  blow. 
.  .  .  This  time,  he  stood  aft  by  the  boat  house  and  nagged 
at  the  mate,  and  cried: 

"  Mr.  Ham,  will  you  please  get  that  mess  straightened 
out?  In  God's  name,  why  can't  you  men  do  things  the 
right  way?  You.  .  .  ."  He  flung  up  his  hands  like  a 
hysterical  woman.  "  By  God,  I  wish  I'd  stayed 
ashore.  .  .  ." 

And  he  turned  and  went  aft  and  sulkily  down  into  the 
cabin,  to  fret  at  Faith,  while  Mr.  Ham  and  Dan'l  Tobey 
brought  order  out  of  chaos,  and  Dan'l  smiled  faintly  at 
his  own  thoughts. 

Now  it  is  a  truth  which  every  soldier  knows,  that  a 
commanding  officer  must  command.  When  he  begins  to 
entreat,  or  to  scold  like  a  woman,  or  to  give  any  other 
indication  of  cracking  nerves,  the  men  under  him  conspire 
maliciously  to  torment  him,  in  the  hope  of  provoking  new 
outbreaks.  It  is  instinctive  with  them ;  they  do  it  as  nat- 


36  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

urally  as  small  boys  torment  a  helpless  dog.  And  it  was 
so  on  the  Sally  Sims.  The  more  frequently  Noll  Wing 
forgot  that  he  was  master,  the  more  persistently  the  men 
harassed  him. 

His  officers  saw  the  change  in  Noll,  and  tried  to  hide  it 
or  deny  it  as  their  natures  prompted.  The  mate,  Mr. 
Ham,  developed  an  unsuspected  loyalty,  covering  his 
chief 's  errors  by  his  own  strength ;  and  young  Willis  Cox 
backed  him  nobly.  Dan'l  Tobey,  likewise,  was  alwa}'s 
quick  to  take  hold  of  matters  when  they  slipped  from  the 
captain's  fingers;  but  he  did  it  a  little  ostentatiously. 
'  .  .  .  Noll  himself  did  not  perceive  this  ostentation ;  but 
the  men  saw,  and  understood.  It  was  as  though  Dan'l 
whispered  over  his  shoulder  to  them : 

"  See !  The  old  man's  failing.  I  have  to  handle  you 
for  him.  .  .  ." 

Once  or  twice  Dan'l  bungled  some  task  in  a  fashion 
that  provoked  these  outbreaks;  and  whether  or  not  this 
was  mere  chance,  Faith  was  always  about  on  these  occa- 
sions. For  example,  at  dinner  one  day  in  the  cabin, 
Dan'l  looked  mournfully  at  the  salt  beef  that  was  set 
before  him,  and  then  began  to  eat  it  with  such  a  look  of 
resignation  on  his  countenance  that  Noll  demanded : 
"  What's  wrong  with  the  beef,  Mr.  Tobey?  " 

Dan'l  said  pleasantly :  "  Nothing,  sir.  Nothing  at 
all.  It's  very  good  fare,  and  almighty  well  cooked,  I'd 
say." 

Now  it  was  not  well  cooked.  Tinch,  the  cook,  had  been 
hurried,  or  careless.  .  .  .  The  junk  he  had  brought  down 
to  the  cabin  was  half  raw,  a  nauseous  mass.  .  .  .  And 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  $T 

D^an'l  knew  it,  and  so  did  Noll  Wing.     But  Noll  might 
have  taken  no-  notice  but  for  Dan'l,  and  Dan'l's  tone.  .  .  . 

As  it  was,  he  was  forced  to  take  notice.  And  so  he 
bellowed  for  Tinch,  and  when  the  cook  came  running, 
Noll  lifted  tbe  platter  and  flung  it,  with  its  greasy  con- 
tents, at  the  man's  head,  roaring  profanely.  .  .  . 

Faith  was  at  the  table ;  she  said  nothing.  But  when 
Noll  looked  at  her,  and  saw  the  disappointment  in  her 
eyes —  disappointment  in  him  —  he  wished  to  justify 
himself ;  and  so  complained :  "  Damned  shame.  ...  A 
man  can't  get  decent  food  out  of  that  rascal.  ...  If  I 
wasn't  a  fool,  Faith,  I'd  have  stayed  ashore.  .  .  ." 

Faith  thought  she  would  have  respected  him  more  if, 
having  given  way  to  his  anger,  he  had  stu'ck  to  his  guns, 
instead  of  seeking  thus  weakly  to  placate  her.  And  Dan'l 
Tobey  watched  Faith,  and  was  well  content  with  himself. 

It  was  Dan'l,  in  the  end,  who  brought  Mauger  and 
Cap'n  Wing  together;  and  if  matters  went  beyond  what 
he  had  intended,  that  was  because  chance  favored  him. 

It  was  a  day  when  Mauger  took  a  turn  at  the  awkward 
steering  apparatus  of  the  Sally  Sims.  The  Sally's  wheel 
was  so  arranged  that  when  it  was  twirled,  it  -moved  to  and 
fro  across  the  deck,  dragging  the  tiller  with  it.  To  steer 
was  a  trick  that  required  learning;  and  in  any  sea,  the 
tiller  bucked,  and  the  wheel  fought  the  steersman  in  eccen- 
tric and  amazing  fashion.  This  antiquated  arrangement 
was  one  of  the  curses  of  many  ships  of  the  whaling  fleet. 
.  .  .  Mauger  had  never  been  able  to  get  the  trick 
of  it.  .  .  . 

DanTg  watch  came  on  deck  and  Mauger  took  the  wheel 


38  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

at  a  moment  when  Cap'n  Wing  was  below.  Faith  was  with 
him.  Dan'l  knew  the  captain  would  be  entering  the  log, 
writing  up  his  records  of  the  cruise,  reading.  .  .  .  He  also 
knew  that  if  Noll  Wing  followed  his  custom,  he  would  pres- 
ently come  on  deck.  And  he  knew  —  he  himself  had  Had  a 
hand  in  this  —  that  Noll  had  been  drinking,  that  day,  more 
than  usual. 

That  Faith  came  up  with  Noll,  a  little  later,  was  chanrce ; 
no  more.  Dan'l  had  not  counted  on  it. 

Mauger,  then,  was  at  the  wheel.  Dan'l  leaned  against 
the  deckhouse  behind  Mauger,  and  devoted  himself  amica- 
bly to  the  task  of  instructing  the  man.  His  tone  re- 
mained, throughout,  even  and  calm ;  but  there  was  a  bite 
in  it  which  seared  the  very  skin  of  Mauger's  back. 

"  You'll  understand,"  said  Dan'l  cheerfully,  *'  you  are 
not  rolling  a  hoop  in  your  home  gutter,  Mauger.  You're 
too  impetuous  in  your  ways.  .  .  .  Be  gentle  with  her.  .  .  ." 

This  when,  the  Sally  Sims  having  fallen  off  her  set 
course,  Mauger  brought  her  so  far  up  into  the  wind  that 
her  sails  flapped  on  the  yards.  Dan'l  chided  him. 

"  Not  so  strenuous,  Mauger.  A  little  turn,  a  spoke  or 
two.  .  .  .  You  overswing  your  mark,  little  man.  Stick 
her  nose  into  it,  and  keep  it  there.  .  .  ." 

The  worst  of  it  was,  from  Mauger's  point  of  view,  that 
he  was  trying  quite  desperately  to  hold  the  Sally's  blunt 
bows  where  they  belonged.  But  there  was  a  sea ;  the 
rollers  pounded  her  high  sides  with  an  overwhelming  im- 
pact, and  the  awkward  wheel  put  a  constant  strain  on  his 
none-too-adequate  arms  and  shoulders.  When  the  Sally 
swung  off,  and  he  fought  her  back  to  her  course,  she  was 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  39 

sure  to  swing  too  far  the  other  way ;  when  he  tried  to  ease 
her  up  to  it,  a  following  sea  was  sure  to  catch  him  and 
thrust  him  still  farther  off  the  way  he  should  go.  .  .  . 

He  fought  the  wheel  as  though  it  were  a  live  thing,  and 
the  sweat  burst  out  on  him,  and  his  arms  and  shoulders 
ached ;  and  all  the  time,  Dan'l  at  his  back  flogged  him  with 
gentle  jeers,  and  seared  him  with  caustic  words.  .  .  . 

The  rat-like  little  man  had  the  temper  of  a  rat.  Dan'l 
knew  this;  he  was  careful  never  to  push  Mauger  too  far. 
So,  this  afternoon,  he  brought  the  man,  little  by  little,  to 
the  boiling  point,  and  held  him  there  as  delicately  in  the 
balance  as  a  chemist's  scales.  .  .  .  With  a  word,  he  might 
at  any  time  have  driven  Mauger  mad  with  fury;  with  a 
word  he  could  have  reduced  the  helpless  little  man  to 
smothering  sobs. 

He  had  Mauger  thus  trembling  and  wild  when  Noll 
Wing  came  on  deck,  Faith  at  his  side.  Dan'l  looked  at 
them  shrewdly;  he  saw  that  Noll's  face  was  flushed,  and 
that  Noll's  eyes  were  hot  and  angry.  And  —  behind  the 
back  of  Mauger  at  the  wheel  —  he  nodded  toward  the 
little  man,  and  caught  Noll's  eyes,  and  raised  his  shoulders 
hopelessly,  smiling.  ...  It  was  as  if  he  said : 

"  See  what  a  hash  the  little  man  is  making  of  his  simple 
job.  Is  he  not  a  hopeless  thing?  " 

Noll  caught  Dan'l's  glance ;  and  while  Mauger  still 
quivered  with  the  memory  of  Dan'l's  last  word,  Noll  looked 
at  the  compass,  and  cuffed  Mauger  on  the  ear  and  growled 
at  him : 

"  Get  her  on  her  course,  you  gutter  dog.  .  .  ." 

Which  was  just  enough  to  fill  to  overflowing  Mauger's 


40  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

cup  of  wrath.  The  little  man  abandoned  the  wheel.  .  .  . 
Dan'l  caught  it  before  the  Sally  could  fall  away  .  .  .  and 
Mauger  sprang  headlong,  face  black  with  wrath,  at  Cap'n 
Wing. 

He  was  scarce  a  third  Noll's  size;  but  the  fury  of  his 
attack  was  such  that  for  a  moment  Noll  was  staggered. 
Then  the  captain's  fist  swung  home,  and  the  little  man 
whirled  in  the  air,  and  fell  crushingly  on  head  and  right 
shoulder,  and  rolled  on  the  slanting  deck  like  a  bundle  of 
soiled  old  clothes.  .  .  .  Rolled  and  lay  still.  .  .  . 

Cap'n  Noll  Wing,  big  Noll,  whom  Faith  loved,  bellowed 
and  leaped  after  the  little  man.  He  was  red  with  fury 
that  Mauger  had  attacked  him,  red  with  rage  that  Mauger 
had,  for  an  instant,  thrust  him  back.  He  swung  his  heavy 
boot  and  drove  it  square  into  the  face  of  the  unconscious 
man.  Faith  saw.  .  .  . 

The  toe  of  the  captain's  boot  struck  Mauger  in  the  right 
eye-socket,  as  he  lay  on  his  side.  At  the  blow,  for  an 
instant,  the  man's  eye  literally  splashed  out,  bulging,  on 
his  temple.  .  .  . 

Some  women  would  have  screamed;  some  would  have 
flung  themselves  upon  Noll  to  drag  him  back.  Faith  did 
neither  of  these  things.  She  stood  for  an  instant,  her  lips 
white.  .  .  .  Her  sorrow  and  pity  were  not  for  Mauger, 
who  had  suffered  the  blow.  .  .  .  They  were  for  Noll,  her 
Noll,  her  husband  whom  she  loved  and  wished  to  respect. 
.  .  .  Sorrow  and  pity  for  Noll,  who  had  done  this 
thing.  .  .  . 

She  turned  quickly  and  went  down  into  her  cabin.  .  .  . 

Noll  came  down,  minutes  later,  after  she  had  heard  the 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  41 

feet  of  running  men,  the  voices  of  men  upon  the  deck.  He 
came  down,  found  her  in  the  cabin  which  served  as  his 
office.  She  was  standing,  looking  out  one  of  the  windows 
in  the  stern.  .  .  . 

He  said  thickly :  "  That  damned  rat  won't  try  that  on 
me  again.  .  .  ." 

She  turned,  and  her  eyes  held  his.  "  That  was  ft  cow- 
ardly thing  to  do,  Noll,  my  husband,"  she  said. 


WHEN  Noll  Wing  kicked  the  unconscious  man, 
and  Faith  slipped  quietly  away  and  went 
below,  the  life  of  the  Sally  Sims  for  an  in- 
stant stood  still.  Yella'  Boy  and  Loum,  two  of  the  boat- 
steererg,  were  lounging  at  the  forward  end  of  the  boat- 
house,  and  saw.  Dan'l  Tobey,  who  had  gripped  the  wheel, 
saw.  And  three  or  four  of  the  men,  amidships,  saw.  For 
a  space  they  all  stood  still,  watching,  while  Noll  growled 
above  his  victim,  and  Mauger,  limp  and  senseless,  rolled 
slackly  back  and  forth  upon  the  deck  with  the  motion  of 
the  vessel. 

Then  Noll  looked  around,  and  saw  them  all  watching 
him  with  steady,  hard,  frightened  eyes;  and  their  silence 
irked  him,  so  that  he  broke  it  with  a  cry  of  his  own. 

"  You,  Yella'  Boy,  sluice  him  off,"  he  shouted. 

Yella'  Boy  grinned,  showed  his  teeth  with  the  amiability 
of  his  dark  race ;  and  he  took  a  canvas  bucket  and  dropped 
it  over  the  rail,  and  drew  it  up  filled  with  brine,  and  flung 
this  callously  in  Mauger's  horribly  crushed  face.  The 
water  loosed  the  blood,  washed  it  away  in  flecks  and  gouts. 
...  It  bared  the  skin,  and  through  this  skin,  from  many 
little  slits  and  scratches  like  the  cracks  in  a  half-broken 
egg,  more  blood  trickled,  spreading  moistly.  The  salt 
burned.  .  .  .  Mauger  groaned  hoarsely,  slumped  into  un- 
consciousness again. 

"  Douse  him  again,"  Noll  Wing  commanded.  "  The 

42 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  43 

dog's  shamming."  He  looked  around,  saw  Dan'l  at  the 
wheel.  "  You,  Mr.  Tobey,  look  to  him,"  he  commanded. 

Dan'l  was  one  of  those  men  whose  hands  have  a  knack 
for  healing.  He  knew  something  of  medicine;  he  had  gone 
so  far,  upon  a  former  cruise,  as  to  trim  away  a  man's 
crushed  fingers  after  an  accident  of  the  whale  fisheries  had 
nipped  them.  .  .  .  He  hailed  one  of  the  men  in  the  waist, 
now,  and  gave  the  wheel  to  this  man,  and  then  crossed  to 
where  Mauger  lay  and  knelt  beside  him,  and  dabbed  away 
the  blood  upon  his  face.  .  .  . 

Cap'n  Wing,  leaning  against  the  rail,  his  knuckles  white 
with  the  grip  he  had  upon  it,  watched  Dan'l,  and  swayed 
upon  his  feet.  .  .  .  And  Yella'  Boy,  with  his  bucket  still 
half  full  of  brine,  stood  by,  and  grinned,  and  waited. 

Mauger  came  slowly  back  to  life  under  Dan'l's  ministra- 
tions ;  he  groaned,  and  he  began  to  twitch,  and  kick.  .  .  . 
And  of  a  sudden  he  cried  out,  like  one  suddenly  waking 
from  sleep.  Then  consciousness  flooded  him,  and  with  it 
came  the  agony  he  was  enduring,  and  he  howled.  .  .  .  And 
then  his  howls  grew  weak  and  weaker  till  he  was  sobbing1. 
.  .  .  And  Dan'l  helped  him  to  his  feet.  .  .  .  He  had  put 
a  rough  bandage  about  the  man's  head,  and  from  beneath 
this  bandage,  one  of  Mauger's  eyes  looked  forth,  blackly 
gleaming,  wild  with  the  torment  he  endured.  This  eye 
fixed  its  gaze  upon  Noll  Wing.  .  .  . 

Dan'l  stepped  a  little  nearer  Noll,  and  said  in  a  low 
voice:  "  His  eye  is  gone,  sir.  No  good.  It  ought  to  be 
trimmed  out.  .  .  .  Cleared  away.  ^  .  ." 

That  shocked  the  liquor  out  of  Noll ;  his  face  went  white 
beneath  the  brown;  and  Mauger  heard,  and  suddenly  he 


44  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

screamed  again,  and  leveled  a  shaking  finger  at  Noll  Wing, 
and  cursed  him  shrilly.  .  .  .  Dan'l  whirled  and  bade  him 
be  silent ;  he  signed  to  Yella'  Boy,  and  the  harpooner  half 
dragged,  half  carried  Mauger  forward.  But  as  they  went, 
Mauger,  twisting  in  the  other's  arms,  shook  his  thin  fist  at 
Noll  Wing  and  swore  terribly.  .  .  .  Cursed  Noll,  called 
death  down  upon  him,  vowed  that  he  would  some  day  even 
the  score.  .  .  . 

Yella'  Boy  cuffed  him  and  dragged  him  away.  .  .  .  And 
Dan'l  watched  Noll  to  see  what  the  captain  would  say. 
Noll  said  nothing.  He  took  off  his  cap  and  rubbed  his 
bald  head  and  looked  for  an  instant  like  an  old  man ;  his 
eyes  shifted  furtively  from  Dan'l  to  the  cursing  man.  .  .  . 

Abruptly,  he  turned  and  went  aft  to  the  stern  of  the  ship 
and  stood  there  by  himself,  thinking.  He  sought  reassur- 
ance ;  he  abused  Mauger  under  his  breath,  and  told  himself 
the  little  man  had  been  well  served.  .  .  .  The  Sally  fell 
away ;  he  turned  and  cursed  the  new  man  at  the  wheel,  and 
got  relief  from  the  oath  he  spoke.  It  gave  him  a  bluster- 
ing sort  of  courage.  .  .  .  He  wished  Dan'l  Tobey  would 
tell  him  he  had  done  right.  .  .  .  But  Dan'l  had  gone  for- 
ward to  the  fo'c's'le.  .  .  .  Mauger  was  howling.  .  .  .  Noll 
thought  Dan'l  might  be  trimming  away  that  crushed  eye. 
.  .  .  And  he  shuddered.  He  was,  suddenly,  immensely 
lonely.  He  wished  with  all  his  soul  for  support,  for  a 
word  of  comfort,  a  word  of  reassurance.  .  .  . 

He  went  down  into  the  cabin,  thinking  to  speak  with 
Henry  Ham.  Mr.  Ham  was  always  an  apostle  of  violence. 
.  .  .  But  the  mate  was  sleeping;  Noll  could  hear  him 
snore.  So  was  tigerish  little  James  Tichel.  .  .  . 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  4£ 

Noll  went  into  the  after  cabin,  and  found  Faith  there. 
Her  back  was  turned,  she  was  looking  out  of  the  stem  win- 
dows. He  wished  she  would  look  at  him,  but  she  did  not. 
So  he  sard,  his  voice  thick  with  anger,  and  at  the  same  time 
plaintive  with  hunger  for  a  reassuring  word.  .  .  . 

"  That  damned  rat  won't  try  that  again.  .  .  ." 

Then  Faith  turned  and  told  him :  "  That  was  *  cow- 
ardly thing  to  do,  Noll,  my  husband.'* 

He  had  come  for  comfort ;  he  was  ready  to  humble  him- 
self;  he  was  a  prey  to  the  instinct  of  wrong-doing  man 
which  bids  him  confess  and  be  forgiven.  .  .  .  But  Faith's 
eyes  accused  him.  .  .  .  When  a  man's  wife  turns  against 
him.  .  .  .  He  said,  bitter  with  rage : 

"  Keep  your  mouth  shut,  child.  This  is  not  a  pink  tea, 
aboard  the  Sally  Sims.  You  know  nothing  of  what's  nec- 
ess-ary  to  handle  rough  men." 

Faith  smiled  a  little  wistfully.  "  I  know  it  is  never 
necessary  to  kick  a  helpless  man  in  the  face,"  she  said. 

He  was  so  nearly  mad  with  fury  and  shame  and  misery 
that  he  raised  his  great  fist  as  though  he  would  have  struck 
even  Faith.  "  Mind  your  own  matters,"  he  bade  her 
harshly.  "  The  dog  struck  me.  .  .  .  Where  would  the 
ship  be  if  I  let  that  go  ?  I  should  have  killed  him.  .  .  ." 

"  Did  you  not?  "  Faith  asked  gently.  "  I  thought  he 
would  be  dead.  .  .  ." 

"No;  hell,  no!"  Noll  blustered.  "You  can't  kill  a 
snake.  He'll  be  poisonous  as  ever  in  a  day.  .  .  ." 

"  I  saw  .  .  ."  said  Faith  ;  she  shuddered  faintly.     **  I  - 
think  his  eye  is  gone." 

"  Eye?  "  Noll  echoed.     "  What's  »n  eye?     He's  lucky 


46  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

to  live.  There's  skippers  that  would  have  killed  him  where 
he  stood.  .  .  .  For  what  he  did.  .  .  ." 

Faith  shook  her  head.  "  He's  only  a  little  man,  weak, 
not  used  to  sea  life.  You  are  big,  and  strong,  Noll.  .  .  . 
My  Noll.  .  .  .  There  was  no  need  of  kicking  him." 

The  man  flung  himself,  then,  into  an  insane  burst  of 
anger  at  her.  He  hated  the  whole  world,  hated  Faith  most 
of  all  because  she  would  not  soothe  him  and  tell  him  never 
to  mind.  .  .  .  He  raved  at  her,  gripped  her  round  shoul- 
ders and  shook  her,  flung  her  away  from  him.  .  .  .  He 
was  mad.  .  .  . 

And  Faith,  steadfastly  watching  him,  though  her  soul 
trembled,  prayed  in  her  heart  that  she  might  find  the  way 
to  bring  Noll  back  to  manhood  again ;  she  endured  his 
curses ;  she  endured  his  harsh  grip  upon  her  shoulders. 
.  .  .  She  waited  while  he  flooded  her  with  abuse.  .  .  .  And 
at  the  end,  when  he  was  quiet  for  lack  of  words  to  say,  she 
went  to  him  and  touched  his  arm. 

"  Noll  .  .  ."  she  said. 

He  jerked  away  from  her.     "  What?  " 

"  Noll.  .  .  .  Look  at  me.  .  .  ." 

He  obeyed,  in  spite  of  himself;  and  there  was  such 
depths  of  tenderness  and  sorrow  in  her  eyes  that  the  man's 
heart  melted  in  him.  "  It's  not  Mauger  I'm  sorry  for," 
she  told  him.  "  It's  you,  Noll.  .  .  .  That  you  should 
be  so  cowardly,  Noll.  .  .  ." 

His  rage  broke,  then ;  he  fell  to  fretting,  whining.  .  .  . 
She  sat  down ;  he  slumped  like  a  child  beside  her.  He  told 
her  he  was  tired,  weary.  .  .  .  That  he  was  worried.  .  .  . 
That  his  nerves  had  betrayed  him.  .  .  .  That  the  drink 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  47 

was  in  him.  ..."  They're  all  trying  to  stir  me,"  he 
complained.  "  They  take  a  joy  in  doing  the  thing  wrong. 
.  .  .  They're  helpless,  slithering  fools.  ...  I  lost  myself, 
Faith.  .  .  ." 

He  pleaded  with  her,  desperately  anxious  to  make  her 
understand;  and  Faith  understood  from  the  beginning, 
with  the  full  wisdom  of  woman,  yet  let  him  talk  out  all  his 
vmhappiness  and  remorse.  .  .  .  And  because  she  loved 
him,  her  arm  was  about  him  and  his  great  head  was  drawn 
against  her  breast  long  before  he  was  done.  She  com- 
forted him  with  touches  of  her  light  hands  upon  his  head ; 
she  soothed  him  with  murmurs  that  were  no  words  at 
all.  .  .  . 

The  man  reveled  in  this  orgy  of  self-abasement.  He 
groveled  before  her,  until  she  began  to  be  faintly  con- 
temptuous, in  her  heart,  at  his  groveling.  She  bade  him 
make  an  end  of  it.  ... 

"  I  was  a  coward,  Faith,"  he  cried.  "  You're  right.  I 
was  a  coward.  .  .  ." 

"  You  are  a  man,  Noll,"  she  told  him.  "  Stronger  than 
other  men,  and  not  in  your  fists  alone.  That  is  wh}r  I  love 
you  so.  .  .  ." 

"  I  know,  I  know,"  he  told  her.  "  Oh,  you're  a  wonder, 
Faith.  .  .  ." 

"  You're  a  man.     Always  remember  that,"  she  said. 

He  got  up  abruptly.  He  started  toward  the  main 
cabin  ;  and  she  asked:  "  Where  are  you  going,  Noll?  " 

"  Forward,"  he  said.  "  I've  wronged  Manger.  .  .  ." 
He  was  drunk  with  this  new-found  joy  of  abasing  himself. 
"  I'll  tell  the  man  so.  I'll  right  things  with  him.  .  .  ." 


48  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

And  he  added  thoughtfully :  "  He  cursed  me.  I  don't 
want  the  man's  hate.  I'll  right  things  with  him.  .  .  ." 

She  smiled  faintly,  shook  her  head.     "  No,  Noll.   .   .   ." 

He  was  stubborn.     "Yes.     Why  not?     I've  .  .  ." 

She  said  thoughtfully :  "  Noll,  you're  the  master  of 
this  ship.  Old  Jonathan  Felt  put  her  in  your  charge. 
You  are  responsible  for  her.  .  .  .  And  that  puts  certain 
obligations  on  you,  Noll.  An  obligation  to  be  wise,  and  to 
be  prudent,  and  to  be  brave.  .  .  ." 

He  came  back  and  sat  down  beside  her.  She  touched  his 
knee.  "  You  are  like  a  king,  aboard  here,  Noll.  And  — 
the  king  can  do  no  wrong.  I  would  not  go  to  Mauger,  if 
I  were  you.  You  made  a  mistake ;  but  there  is  no  need 
you  should  humble  yourself  before  the  men.  They  would 
not  understand ;  they  would  only  despise  you,  Noll." 

He  said  hotly :  "  Let  them.  They're  sneaking,  spine- 
less things.  .  .  ." 

"  Let  them  fear  you ;  let  them  hate  you,"  she  told  him. 
"  But  —  never  let  them  forget  you  are  master,  Noll. 
Don't  go  to  Mauger.  ..." 

He  had  no  real  desire  to  go ;  he  wished  only  to  bask  in 
her  new-found  sympathy.  And  he  yielded  readily  enough, 
at  last.  .  .  . 

The  matter  passed  abruptly.  She  rose ;  he  went  up  on 
deck ;  the  Sally  Sims  went  on  her  way.  And  for  a  day  or 
two,  Noll  Wing,  an  old  man,  was  like  a  boy  who  has  re- 
pented and  been  forgiven;  he  was  offensively  virtuous, 
offensively  good-natured. 

Mauger  returned  to  his  duties  the  second  day.  He 
wore  a  bandage  across  his  face ;  and  when  it  was  discarded 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  49 

a  week  later,  the  hollow  socket  where  his  eje  had  been  was 
revealed.  His  suffering  had  worked  a  terrible  change  in 
the  man ;  he  had  been  morose  and  desperate,  he  was  now 
too  much  given  to  chuckling,  as  though  at  some  secret  jest 
of  his  own.  He  went  slyly  about  his  tasks ;  he  seemed  to 
have  a  pride  in  his  misfortune;  when  he  saw  men  shrink 
with  distaste  at  sight  of  his  scarred  countenance,  he 
chuckled  under  his  breath.  .  .  . 

Dan'l  Tobey  had  cut  away  the  crushed  eye-ball ;  the 
lids  covered  the  empty  socket.  In  the  upper  lid,  some 
maimed  nerve  persisted  in  living.  It  twitched,  now  and 
then,  in  such  a  fashion  that  Mauger  seemed  to  be  winking 
with  that  deep  hollow  in  his  face.  .  .  . 

The  man  had  a  fascination,  from  the  beginning,  for 
Noll  Wing.  The  captain  took  an  unholy  joy  in  looking 
upon  his  handiwork ;  he  shivered  at  it,  as  a  boy  shivers  at 
a  tale  of  ghosts.  .  .  .  And  he  felt  the  gleaming  glance  of 
Mauger's  remaining  eye  like  a  threat.  It  followed  him 
whenever  they  were  both  on  deck  together;  if  he  looked 
toward  Mauger,  he  was  sure  to  catch  the  other  watching 
him. 

Dan'l  Tobey  was  cheerfully  philosophical  about  the 
matter.  "  He  can  see  as  well  as  ever,  with  what  he  has 
loft,"  he  told  Noll  one  day.  "  And  he  ought  to  count  him- 
self lucky.  Your  boot  might  have  mashed  his  head  in. 
.  .  .  And  serve  him  right.  .  .  ." 

"  Aye,"  said  Noll,  willing  to  be  reassured.  "  He's  lucky 
to  live.  The  dog  must  know  that.  .  .  ." 

And  he  looked  forward  to  where  Mauger  lounged  amid- 
ships, beside  the  try  works,  and  saw  the  man's  black  ey« 


50  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

watching  him;  and  Mauger  caught  the  captain's  glance, 
and  chuckled  unpleasantly,  his  face  twisting.  Noll  felt  a 
quiver  of  horror,  far  within  himself.  .  .  . 

He  began,  even  in  the  fortnight  after  the  affair,  to  re- 
member Mauger's  curses  and  threats  as  the  man  was 
borne  away  by  Yella'  Boy,  that  day.  Mauger  had  threat- 
ened to  kill  him,  to  cut  his  heart  away.  .  .  .  The  meaning- 
less cries  of  a  delirious  man,  he  told  himself.  .  .  .  No 
doubt  Mauger  had  forgotten  them  before  this.  .  .  . 

He  tried,  one  day,  the  experiment  of  giving  the  one-eyed 
man  an  order.  Smoking  his  pipe,  he  spilled  ashes  on  the 
spotless  deck ;  and  he  bellowed  forward  to  Mauger  to  come 
aft,  and  when  the  man  came,  he  pointed,  to  the  smudge  of 
ashes,  and: 

"  Clean  that  up,"  he  said  harshly.     "  Look  sharp,  now.'* 

Mauger  chuckled.  "  Aye,  sir,"  he  said  respectfully,  and 
on  hands  and  knees  at  the  captain's  feet  performed  his 
task,  looking  up  slyly  into  Noll  Wing's  face  as  he  did  so. 
The  lid  that  closed  the  empty  eye-socket  twitched  and 
seemed  to  wink.  .  .  . 

That  night,  as  they  were  preparing  to  sleep,  Noll  spoke 
of  Mauger  to  Faith.  "  He  does  his  work  better  than 
ever,"  he  said. 

She  nodded.  "  Yes."  And  something  in  Noll's  tone 
made  her  attentive. 

"  Seems  cheerful,  too,"  said  Noll.  He  hesitated.  "  I 
reckon  he's  forgot  his  threat  to  stick  a  knife  in  me.  .  .  . 
Don't  you  think  he  has  ?  " 

Faith's  eyes,  watching  her  husband,  clouded;  for  she 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  51 

read  his  tone.     Noll  Wing,  strong  man  and  brave,  could 
not  hide  his  secret  from  her.  .  .  . 

She  understood  that  he  was  deathly  afraid  of  the  one- 
eyed  man. 


VI 

THE  Sally  Sims  was  in  the  South  Atlantic  on  the 
day  when  Noll  Wing  kicked  out  Mauger's  eye. 
The  life  of  the  whaler  went  on,  day  by  day,  as  a 
background  for  the  drama  that  was  brewing.  The  men 
stood  watch  at  the  mastheads,  the  Sally  plunged  and  wad- 
dled awkwardly  southward;  and  now  and  then  a  misty 
spout  against  the  wide  blue  of  the  sea  halted  them,  and 
boats  were  lowered,  and  the  whales  were  struck,  and  killed, 
and  towed  alongside.  Held  fast  there  by  the  chain  that 
was  snubbed  around  the  fluke-chain  bitt,  they  were  hacked 
by  the  keen  spades  and  cutting  knives,  the  great  heads 
were  cut  off,  and  dragged  aboard,  and  stripped  of  every 
fleck  of  oily  blubber ;  and  the  great  bodies,  while  the  spiral 
blanket  strips  were  torn  away,  rolled  lumberingly  over  and 
orer  against  the  bark's  stout  planks.  Thereafter  the  try- 
works  roared,  and  the  blubber  boiled,  and  the  black  and 
stinking  smoke  of  burning  oil  hung  over  the  seas  like  a 
pall.  .  .  . 

Tin's  smell  of  burning  oil,  the  mark  of  the  whaler,  dis- 
tressed Faith  at  first.  It  sickened  her ;  and  the  soot  from 
the  fires  where  the  scrapple  of  boiled  blubber  fed  the  flames 
settled  over  the  ship,  and  penetrated  even  to  her  own 
immaculate  cabin.  She  disliked  the  smell ;  but  the  gigantic 
toil  of  the  cutting  in  and  the  roar  of  the  tryworks  had 

52 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  53 

alwajs  a  fascination  for  her  that  compensated  for  the 
smell  and  the  soot.  She  rejoiced  in  strength,  in  the  strong 
work  of  lusty  men.  To  see  a  great  carcass  almost  as  long 
as  the  Sally  lying  helplessly  against  the  rail  never  failed  to 
thrill  her.  For  the  men  of  the  crew,  it  was  all  in  the 
day's  work;  stinking,  sweating,  perilous  toil.  For  Faith 
it  was  a  tremendous  spectacle.  It  intoxicated  her ;  and  in 
the  same  fashion  it  affected  Noll  Wing,  and  Dan'l  Tobey, 
and  tigerish  old  Tichel.  When  there  were  fish  about,  these 
men  were  subtly  changed ;  their  eyes  shone,  their  chests 
swelled,  their  muscles  hardened ;  they  stamped  upon  the 
deck  with  stout  legs,  like  a  cavalry  horse  that  scents  the 
<  attle.  They  gave  themselves  to  the  toil  of  killing  whales 
and  harvesting  the  blubber  as  men  give  themselves  to  a 
debauch;  and  afterward,  when  the  work  was  done,  they 
were  apt  to  surrender  to  a  lassitude  such  as  follows  a  de- 
bauch. There  was  keen,  sensual  joy  in  the  running  oil, 
the  unctuous  oil  that  flowed  everywhere  upon  the  decks; 
they  dabbed  their  hands  in  it ;  it  soaked  their  garments 
and  their  very  skins  drank  it  in. 

Young  Roy  Kilcup  took  fire,  from  the  beginning,  at 
these  gigantic  spectacles.  He  wished  to  go  out  in  the 
boats  that  struck  the  whales ;  but  he  lacked  the  sinews  of 
a  man,  he  lacked  the  perfect  muscular  control  of  man- 
hood. He  was  still  a  boy,  nimble  as  a  monkey,  but  given 
to  awkward  gestures  and  leaps  and  motions.  He  could 
not  be  trusted  to  sit  tight  in  a  boat  and  handle  his  oar 
when  a  whale  was  leaping  under  the  iron ;  and  so  he  was 
condemned  to  stay  on  the  ship. 

But  they  could  not  deny  him  a  part  in  the  cutting  in; 


54  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

and  when  that  work  was  afoot,  he  was  everywhere,  his  eyes 
gleaming.  .  .  .  He  slashed  at  the  blubber  with  a  boarding 
knife;  he  minced  it  for  the  boiling;  he  descended  into  the 
blubber  room  and  helped  stow  the  stuff  there.  Faith, 
watching,  loved  his  enthusiasm  and  his  zeal.  .  .  . 

After  the  matter  of  Mauger,  things  went  smoothly  for  a 
space.  The  whales  came  neither  too  fast  nor  too  slow ; 
they  killed  one  or  two,  at  intervals  of  days ;  they  cut  them 
in ;  they  tried  them  out,  while  the  fires  flared  through  night 
and  day  and  cast  red  shadows  on  the  dark  faces  of  the 
men,  and  turned  their  broad,  bared  chests  to  gold.  And 
when  the  blubber  was  boiled,  they  cleaned  ship,  and  idled 
on  their  way,  and  raised,  in  due  time,  other  whales.  .  .  . 

Cap'n  Wing  chose  to  go  west,  instead  of  eastward  past 
the  tip  of  Africa  and  up  into  the  Indian  Ocean.  So  they 
worked  their  painful  way  around  the  Horn,  fighting  for 
inches  day  by  day ;  and  when  the  bleak  fog  did  not  blanket 
them,  Faith  could  see  gaunt  mountains  of  rock  above  the 
northern  rim  of  the  sea.  And  once  they  passed  a  clipper, 
eastward  bound.  It  swept  up  on  them,  a  tower  of  tug- 
ging canvas;  it  came  abreast,  slipped  past,  and  dwindled 
into  a  white  dot  upon  the  sea  behind  before  night  came 
down  and  hid  it  from  their  eyes.  In  the  morning,  though 
they  had  idled  with  no  canvas  pulling,  through  the  night, 
the  clipper  was  gone,  and  they  were  alone  again  among  the 
mountains  that  came  down  to  the  sea.  .  .  . 

So  they  slid  out  at  last  into  the  South  Pacific,  and 
struck  a  little  north  of  west  for  the  wide  whaling  grounds 
of  the  island-dotted  South  Seas.  And  struck  their 
whales. 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  55 

The  routine  of  their  tasks.  .  .  .  But  during  this  time, 
a  change  was  working  in  Noll  Wing,  which  Faith,  and 
Dan'l  Tobey,  and  all  who  looked  might  see. 

The  matter  of  Mauger  had  been,  in  some  measure,  a 
milestone  in  Noll  Wing's  life.  He  had  struck  men  before ; 
he  had  maimed  them.  He  had  killed  at  least  one  man,  in 
fair  fight,  when  it  was  his  life  or  the  other's.  But  because 
in  those  days  his  pulse  was  strong  and  his  heart  was  young, 
the  matter  had  never  preyed  upon  him.  He  had  been  able 
to  go  proudly  on  his  way,  strong  in  his  strength,  sure  of 
himself,  serene  and  unafraid.  He  was,  in  those  days,  a 
man. 

But  this  was  different ;  this  was  the  parting  of  the  ways. 
Noll  had  spent  his  great  strength  too  swiftly.  His  mus- 
cles were  as  stout  as  ever ;  but  his  heart  was  not.  Drink 
was  gnawing  at  him ;  old  age  was  gnawing  at  him ;  he  was 
like  an  old  wolf  that  by  the  might  of  tooth  and  fang  has 
led  the  pack  for  long.  .  .  .  Pie  had  seen  strong  men  fail ; 
he  knew  what  failure  meant ;  and  he  could  guess  the  slack- 
ening of  his  own  great  powers  and  prevision  the  end  of  this 
slackening.  The  wolf  dreads  the  day  when  a  young, 
strong  wolf  will  drag  him  down  ;  Noll  dreaded  the  day  when 
his  voice  and  his  eye  and  his  fist  should  fail  to  master  the 
men.  He  had  been  absolute  so  long,  he  could  endure  no 
less.  He  must  rule,  or  he  was  done.  .  .  . 

At  times,  when  he  felt  this  failing  of  his  own  strong 
heart,  he  blamed  Faith  for  it,  and  fretted  at  her  because 
she  dragged  him  down.  At  other-  times,  he  was  ashamed, 
he  was  afraid  of  the  eyes  of  the  men ;  he  fled  to  her  for 
comfort  and  for  strength.  He  was  a  prey,  too,  to  regret- 


66  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

ful  memories.  The  matter  of  Mauger,  for  instance.  .  .  . 
He  was,  for  all  he  fought  the  feeling,  tortured  by  remors* 
for  what  he  had  done  to  Mauger. 

And  he  was  dreadfully  afraid  of  the  one-eyed  man. 

At  first,  he  half  enjoyed  this  fear;  it  was  a  new  sensa- 
tion, and  he  rolled  in  it  like  a  horse  in  clover.  But  as  th; 
weeks  passed,  it  nagged  at  him  so  constantly  that  he  be- 
came obsessed  with  it.  Wherever  he  turned,  he  saw  the 
one-eyed  man  regarding  him ;  and  this  stead}'  scrutiny  of 
Mauger's  one  black  eye  was  like  a  continual  pin-prick.  It 
twanged  his  nerves.  .  .  .  He  tried,  for  a  time,  to  find 
relief  in  blustering;  he  roared  about  the  ship,  bellowing 
his  commands.  ...  It  comforted  him  to  see  men  jump  to 
obey.  But  from  the  beginning,  this  was  not  utter  comfort. 
He  was  pursued  by  the  chuckling,  mirthless  mirth  of  the 
one-eyed  man.  He  thought  Mauger  was  like  a  scavenger 
bird  that  waits  for  a  sick  beast  to  die.  Mauger  harassed 
him.  .  .  . 

This  change  in  Noll  Wing  reacted  upon  Faith.  Because 
her  life  was  so  close  to  his,  she  was  forced  to  witness  the 
manifestations  which  he  hid  from  the  men  ;  because  her  eyes 
were  the  eyes  of  a  woman  who  loves,  she  saw  things  which 
the  men  did  not  see.  She  saw  the  slow  loosening  of  the 
muscles  of  Noll's  jaw;  saw  how  his  cheeks  came  to  sag 
like  jowls.  She  saw  the  old,  proud  strength  in  his  eyes 
weaken  and  fail;  she  saw  his  eyes  grow  red  and  furtive. 
.  .  .  Saw,  too,  how  his  whole  body  became  overcast  with  a 
thickening,  flabby  garment  of  fat,  like  a  net  that  bound 
his  slothful  limbs.  .  .  . 

Noll's  slow  disintegration  of  soul  had  its  effect  upon 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  57 

Faith.  She  had  been,  when  she  came  to  the  Sally  Sims 
with  him,  little  more  than  a  girl;  she  had  been  gay  and 
laughing,  but  she  had  also  been  calm  and  strong.  As  the 
weeks  passed,  Faith  was  less  gay ;  her  laugh  rang  more  sel- 
dom. But  by  the  same  token,  the  strength  that  dwelt  in 
her  seemed  to  increase.  While  Noll  weakened,  she  grew 
strong.  .  .  . 

There  were  days  when  she  was  very  lonely ;  she  felt  that 
the  Noll  she  had  married  was  gone  from  her.  .  .  .  She  was, 
for  all  her  strength,  a  woman ;  and  a  woman  is  always 
happiest  when  she  can  lean  on  other  strength  and  find 
comfort  there.  .  .  .  But  Noll.  .  .  .  Noll,  by  this,  was  not 
so  strong  of  soul  as  she.  .  .  . 

She  was  lonely  with  another  loneliness ;  with  the  loneli- 
ness of  a  mother.  .  .  .  But  Noll  had  told  her,  brutally,  in 
the  beginning,  that  there  was  no  place  for  a  babe  upon  the 
Sally  Sims.  He  overbore  her,  because  in  such  a  matter 
she  could  not  command  him.  The  longing  was  too  deep 
in  her  for  words.  She  could  not  lay  it  bare  for  even  Noll 
to  see.  .  .  . 

Thus,  in  short,  Faith  was  unhappy.  Unhappy ;  yet  she 
loved  Noll,  and  her  heart  clung  to  him,  and  yearned  to 
strengthen  and  support  the  man,  yearned  to  bring  back 
the  valor  she  had  loved  in  him.  .  .  .  There  could  never  be, 
so  long  as  he  should  live,  any  man  but  Noll  for  her. 

Dan'l  Tobey  —  poor  Dan'l,  if  you  will  —  could  not 
understand  this.  Dan'l,  for  all  his  round  and  simple  coun- 
tenance, and  the  engaging  frankness  of  his  freckles  and  his 
hair,  had  an  eye  that  could  see  into  the  heart  of  a  man. 
He  had  understanding ;  he  could  read  men's  moods ;  he 


58  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

could  play  upon  them,  guide  them  without  their  guessing 
at  his  guidance.  He  managed  skillfully.  He  held  the  re- 
spect, even  the  affection  of  the  bulk  of  the  crew ;  he  had  the 
liking  of  all  the  officers  save  Willis  Cox,  who  disliked  him 
for  a  reason  he  could  not  put  in  words.  He  bent  his 
efforts  to  hold  Roy  Kilcup ;  and  Roy  worshiped  him.  He 
took  care  to  please  Noll  Wing,  and  Noll  leaned  upon 
Dan'l,  and  trusted  him.  Dan'l  was  the  only  man  on  the 
ship  who  always  applauded  whatever  Noll  might  do ;  and 
Noll,  hungry  as  an  old  man  for  praise,  fed  fat  on  Dan'l's 
applause.  .  .  . 

Dan'l  was  wise;  he  was  also  crafty.  He  contrived, 
again  and  again,  that  Noll  should  act  unworthily  in 
Faith's  eyes.  To  this  extent  he  understood  Faith;  he 
understood  her  ideals,  knew  that  she  judged  men  by  them, 
knew  that  when  Noll  fell  short  of  these  ideals,  Faith  must 
in  her  heart  condemn  him.  .  .  .  And  he  took  care  that 
Noll  should  fall  short.  .  .  . 

For  one  thing  —  a  little  matter,  but  at  the  same  time  a 
matter  of  vast  importance  —  he  used  the  fact  that  big 
Noll  did  not  eat  prettily.  Noll,  accustomed  to  the  sea, 
having  all  his  life  been  a  hungry  man  among  men,  was  not 
careful  of  the  niceties  of  the  table.  He  ate  quickly;  he 
ate  loudly;  he  ate  clumsily.  Dan'l,  somewhat  gentler 
bred,  understood  this ;  and  at  the  meals  in  the  cabin  when 
Noll  was  particularly  offensive,  Dan'l  used  to  catch  Faith 
into  spirited  conversation,  as  though  to  distract  her  atten- 
tion. .  .  .  He  did  this  in  such  a  way  that  it  seemed  to  be 
mere  loyalty  to  Noll ;  yet  it  served  to  create  an  atmosphere 
of  understanding  between  Dan'l  and  Faith,  and  it  showed 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  59 

him  in  her  eyes  as  a  loyal  servant,  without  hiding  the  fact 
that  big  Noll  was  a  gross  man. 

When  they  were  all  on  deck  together,  and  Dan'l  saw 
that  burning  sun  or  splattering  rain  was  unpleasant  to 
Faith,  he  used  to  remedy  the  matter  by  finding  shelter  for 
her ;  and  in  doing  this  he  emphasized  —  by  the  doing  it- 
self —  the  fact  that  Noll  had  failed  to  think  of  her.  How 
much  of  these  things  was,  in  the  beginning,  designed  to 
win  Faith  from  Noll  it  is  impossible  to  say.  Dan'l  de- 
lighted in  the  very  doing;  for  he  loved  Faith,  had  loved 
her  for  years,  still  loved  her  so  intensely  that  there  were 
hours  when  he  could  have  strangled  Noll  with  his  bare 
hands  because  Noll  possessed  her. 

Dan'l  loved  Faith  with  a  passion  that  gripped  him,  soul 
and  body ;  yet  it  was  not  an  unholy  thing.  When  he  saw 
her  unhappy,  he  wished  to  guard  her ;  when  he  saw  that 
she  was  lonely,  he  wished  to  comfort  her;  when  he  came 
upon  her,  once,  at  the  stern,  and  saw  that  she  had  tears  in 
her  eyes,  it  called  for  all  his  strength  to  refrain  from 
taking  her  in  his  arms  and  soothing  her.  He  loved  her, 
but  there  was  nothing  in  his  love  that  could  have  soiled 
her.  Dan'l  was,  in  some  fashion,  a  figure  of  tragedy.  .  .  . 

His  heart  burst  from  him,  one  day  when  they  were  two 
weeks  in  the  South  Pacific.  It  was  a  hard,  bitter  day ;  one 
of  those  days  when  the  sea  is  unfriendly,  when  she  torments 
a  ship  with  thrusting  billows,  when  she  racks  planks  and 
strains  rigging,  when  she  is  perverse  without  being  danger- 
ous. There  was  none  of  the  joy  of  battle  in  enduring 
such  a  sea ;  there  was  only  irksome  toil.  It  told  on  Noll 
Wing.  His  temper  worked  under  the  strain.  He  was  on 


60  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

deck  through  the  afternoon ;  and  the  climax  came  when 
Willis  Cox's  boat  parted  the  lines  that  held  its  bow  and 
fell  and  dangled  by  the  stern  lines,  slatting  against  the  rail 
of  the  Sally,  and  spilling  the  gear  into  the  sea.  With 
every  lurch  of  the  sea,  the  boat  was  splintering ;  and  before 
the  men,  driven  by  Dan'l  and  Willis,  could  get  the  boat 
inboard  again,  it  was  as  badly  smashed  as  if  a  whale's 
flukes  had  caught  it  square.  Noll  had  raged  while  the 
men  toiled;  when  the  boat  was  stowed,  he  strode  toward 
Willis  Cox  and  spun  the  man  around  by  a  shoulder  grip. 

"  Your  fault,  you  damned,  careless  skunk,"  he  accused. 
"  You're  no  more  fit  for  your  job.  .  .  .  You're  a  .  .  ." 

Willis  Cox  was  little  more  than  a  boy ;  he  had  a  boy's 
sense  of  justice.  He  was  heart-broken  by  the  accident, 
and  he  said  soberly :  "  I'm  sorry,  sir.  It  was  my  fault. 
You're  right,  sir." 

"  Right?  "  Noll  roared.  "  Of  course  I'm  right.  Do  I 
need  a  shirking  fourth  mate  to  tell  me  when  I'm  right  or 
wrong?  By  .  .  .**  His  wrath  overflowed  in  a  blow;  and 
for  all  the  fact  that  Noll  was  aging,  his  fist  was  stout. 
The  blow  dropped  Willis  like  the  stroke  of  an  ax.  Noll 
himself  filled  a  bucket  and  sluiced  the  man,  and  drove  him 
below  with  curses. 

Afterward,  the  reaction  sent  Noll  to  Faith  in  a  rage  at 
himself,  at  the  men,  at  the  world,  at  her.  Dan'l,  in  the 
main  cabin,  heard  Noll  swearing  at  her.  .  .  .  And  he  set 
his  teeth  and  went  on  deck  because  of  the  thing  he  might 
do.  He  was  still  there,  half  an  hour  later,  when  Faith 
came  quietly  up  the  companion.  Night  had  fallen  by  then, 
the  sea  was  moderating.  Faith  passed  him,  where  he  stood 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  61 

by  the  galley ;  and  he  saw  her  figure  silhouetted  against  the 
gray  gloom  of  the  after  rail.  For  a  moment  he  watched 
her,  gripping  himself.  .  .  .  He  saw  her  shoulders  stir,  as 
though  she  wept.  .  .  . 

The  man  could  not  endure  it.  He  was  at  her  side  in 
three  strides.  .  .  .  She  faced  him;  and  he  could  see  her 
eyes  dark  in  the  night  as  she  looked  at  him.  He  stam- 
mered : 

"  Faith !     Faith !     I'm  so  sorry.  .  .  ." 

She  did  not  speak,  because  she  could  not  trust  her  voice. 
She  was  furiously  ashamed  of  her  own  weakness,  of  the 
disloyalty  of  her  thoughts  of  Noll.  She  swallowed 
hard.  .  .  . 

"He's  a  dog,  Faith,"  Dan'l  whispered.  "Ah,  Faith. 
...  I  love  you.  I  love  you.  I  could  kill  him,  I  love 
you  so.  .  .  ." 

Faith  knew  she  must  speak.  She  said  quietly :  "  Dan'l. 
.  .  .  That  is  not  .  .  ." 

He  caught  her  hand,  with  an  eloquent  grace  that  was 
strange  to  see  in  the  awkward,  freckled  man.  He  caught 
her  hand  to  his  lips  and  kissed  it.  "  I  love  you,  Faith," 
he  cried.  .  .  . 

She  freed  her  hand,  rubbed  at  it  where  his  lips  had 
pressed  it.  Dan'l  was  scarce  breathing  at  all.  .  .  .  Fear- 
ful of  what  he  had  done,  fearful  of  what  she  might  do  or 
say.  .  .  . 

She  said  simply :  "  Dan'l,  my  friend,  I  love  Noll  Wing 
with  all  my  heart." 

And  poor  Dan'l  knew,  for  all  she  spoke  so  simply,  that 
there  was  no  part  of  her  which  was  his.  And  he  backed 


62  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

away  from  her  a  little,  humbly,  until  his  figure  was  shad- 
owed by  the  deckhouse.  And  then  he  turned  and  went 
forward  to  the  waist,  and  left  Faith  standing  there. 

He  found  Mauger  in  the  waist,  and  jeered  at  him  good- 
naturedly  until  he  was  himself  again.  Faith,  after  a  little, 
went  below. 

Noll  was  asleep  in  his  bunk  above  hers.  He  lay  on  his 
back,  one  bare  and  hairy  arm  hanging  over  the  side  of  the 
bunk.  He  was  snoring,  and  there  was  the  pungent  smell 
of  rum  about  him. 

Faith  undressed  and  went  quietly  to  bed. 


VII 

* '  ITT^lHERE  is  a  tide  in  the  affairs  of  me*.  .  .  ." 

Their  lives  ebb  and  flow  like  the  tides ;  there 

_M.       are  days,  or  months,  or  years  when  matters 

move  slackly,  seem  scarce  to  move  at  all.     But  always,  in 

the  end,  the  pulses  of  the  days  beat  up  and  up.  ...  A 

moment  comes  when  all  life  is  compressed  in  a  single  act, 

a   single   incident.  .  .  .  Thereafter   the    tide   falls    away 

again,  but  the  life  of  man  is  a  different  thing  thereafter. 

Such  a  tide  was  beating  to  the  flood  aboard  the  Sally 
Sims.  Faith  felt  it ;  Dan'l  felt  it ;  even  Noll  Wing,  through 
the  fury  of  his  increasing  impotence,  felt  that  matters 
could  not  long  go  on  in  this  wise.  Noll  felt  it  less  tha» 
the  others,  because  the  waxing  tension  of  his  nerves  was 
relieved  by  his  occasional  outbursts  of  tempestuous  rage. 
But  Faith  could  find  no  vent  for  her  unhappiness ;  she 
loved  Noll,  and  she  wept  for  him.  .  .  .  Wept  for  the  Noll 
she  had  married,  who  now  was  dying  before  her  eyes.  .  .  . 
And  Dan'l  suffered,  perhaps,  more  than  Faith.  He  suf- 
fered because  he  must  not  seem  to  suffer.  .  .  . 

The  thing  could  not  go  on,  Dan'l  thought ;  he  told  him- 
self, in  the  night  watches  when  he  was  alone  on  deck,  that 
he  could  not  long  endure  the  torment  of  his  longing. 
Thus  far  he  had  loved  Faith  utterly ;  his  half-unconscious 
efforts  to  discredit  Noll  were  the  result  of  no  malice  toward 
Noll  Wing,  but  only  of  love  for  Faith.  But  the  denial  of 


64  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

his  longing  for  the  right  to  care  for  her  was  poisoning 
him;  the  man's  soul  was  brewing  venom.  The  honorable 
fibers  of  his  being  were  disintegrating ;  his  heart  was  rot- 
ting in  the  man. 

He  was  at  the  point  where  a  little  thing  might  have 
saved  him ;  he  was,  by  the  same  token,  at  the  point  where 
a  little  thing  could  set  him  forever  upon  the  shameful 
paths  of  wrong. 

Noll  passed,  at  this  time,  into  a  period  of  sloth.  He 
gave  up,  bit  by  bit,  the  vigorous  habits  of  his  life.  He 
had  been  accustomed  of  old  to  take  the  deck  at  morning, 
and  keep  it  till  dusk ;  and  when  need  arose  in  the  night,  he 
had  always  been  quick  to  leap  from  his  bunk  and  spring  to 
the  spot  where  his  strength  was  demanded.  He  had,  in  the 
past,  loved  to  take  his  own  boat  after  the  whales  that  were 
sighted ;  he  had  continued  to  do  this  in  the  early  stages  of 
this  cruise,  leaving  Eph  Hitch,  the  cooper ;  and  Tinch,  the 
cook;  and  Kellick,  and  a  spare  hand  or  so  to  keep  ship 
with  Faith  and  Roy  Kilcup.  But  when  they  came  into 
the  South  Seas,  he  gave  this  up ;  and  for  a  month  on  end, 
he  did  not  leave  the  ship.  The  mates  struck  the  whales, 
and  killed  them,  and  cut  them  in,  while  Noll  slept  heavily 
in  his  cabin. 

He  gave  up,  also,  the  practice  of  spending  most  of  the 
day  on  deck.  He  stayed  below,  reading  a  little,  writing  up 
the  log,  or  sitting  with  glazed  eyes  by  the  cabin  table,  a 
bottle  in  reach  of  his  hand.  He  slept  much,  heavily ;  and 
even  when  he  was  awake,  he  seemed  sodden  with  the  sleep  in 
which  he  soaked  himself. 

He  passed,  during  this  time,  through  varying  moods. 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  65 

There  were  days  when  he  sulked  and  spoke  little;  there 
were  days  when  he  swore  and  raged ;  and  there  were  other 
days  when  he  followed  at  Faith's  heels  with  a  pathetic 
cheerfulness,  like  an  old  dog  that  tries  to  drive  its  stiff 
legs  to  the  bounding  leaps  of  puppy  play.  He  was  alter- 
nately dependent  upon  her  and  fretful  at  her  pres- 
ence. .  .  . 

And  always,  day  by  day,  he  was  haunted  by  the  sight  of 
the  one-eyed  man.  He  burst  out,  to  Faith,  one  night ;  he 
cried : 

"  The  man  plans  to  knife  me.  I  can  see  murder  in  his 
eye." 

Faith,  who  pitied  Mauger  and  had  tried  to  comfort  him, 
shook  her  head.  "  He's  broken,"  she  said.  "  He's  but 
the  shell  of  a  man." 

"  He  follows  me,"  Noll  insisted.  "  I  turned,  on  deck,  an 
hour  ago  ;  and  he  was  just  behind  me,  in  the  shadow.  .  .  ." 

Faith,  seeking  to  rouse  the  old  spirit  in  Noll,  said 
gently :  "  There  was  a  man  who  tried  to  stab  you  once. 
And  you  killed  him  with  your  hands.  Surely  you  need 
not  be  fearful  of  Mauger." 

Noll  brooded  for  a  moment.  "  Eh,  Faith,"  he  said  dole- 
fully. "  I  was  a  hard  man,  then.  I've  always  been  a  hard 
man.  .  .  .  Wrong,  Faith.  I  was  always  wrong.  .  .  ." 

"  You  were  a  master,"  she  told  him. 

"  By  the  fist.  A  master  by  the  fist.  ...  A  hard 
man.  .  .  ." 

He  fell  to  mourning  over  his  own  harsh  life;  he  gave 
himself  to  futile,  ineffectual  regrets.  .  .  .  He  told  over  to 
Faith  the  tale  of  the  blows  he  had  struck,  the  oaths,  the 


66  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

kicks.  .  .  .  This  habit  of  confession  was  becoming  a  mania 
with  him.  And  when  Faith  tried  smilingly  to  woo  him 
from  this  mood,  he  called  her  hard.  .  .  .  He  told  her,  one 
day,  she  was  un-Christian ;  and  he  got  out  a  Bible,  and 
began  to  read.  .  .  .  Thereafter  the  mates  found  him  in 
the  cabin,  day  by  day,  with  the  Bible  spread  upon  his 
knees,  and  the  whiskey  within  reach  of  his  hand.  .  .  . 

The  disintegration  of  the  master  had  its  inevitable 
effect  upon  the  crew;  they  saw,  they  grinned  with  their 
tongues  in  their  cheeks ;  they  winked  slyly  behind  Noll's 
back.  One  day  Noll  called  a  man  and  bade  him  scrub 
away  a  stain  of  oil  upon  the  deck.  The  man  went  slackly 
afc  the  task.  The  captain  said :  "  Come,  sharp  there. 
.  .  ."  And  the  man  grinned  and  spat  over  the  side  and 
asked  impudently : 

"What's  hurry?" 

Noll  started  to  explain ;  but  Henry  Ham  had  heard,  and 
the  mate's  fist  caught  the  man  in  the  deep  ribs,  and  the 
man  made  haste,  thereafter.  Ham  explained  respectfully 
to  the  captain : 

"You  can't  talk  to  'em,  sir.  Fist  does  it.  Fist  and 
boot.  You  know  that,  well's  me." 

Noll  shook  his  head  dolefully.  "  I've  been  a  hard  man 
in  the  past,  Mr.  Ham,"  he  admitted.  "  But  I'll  not  strike 
•  man  again.  .  .  ." 

And  the  mate,  who  could  not  understand,  chuckled  un- 
easily as  though  it  were  all  a  jest.  "  I  will,  for  you,  sir," 
he  said. 

If  Dan'l  Tobey  had  been  mate,  and  so  minded,  he  could 
hare  kept  the  qrew  alert  and  keen ;  but  Da.n'1  had  his  own 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  67 

troubles,  and  he  did  not  greatly  care  what  came  to  Noll 
and  Noll's  ship.  So,  Noll's  hand  slackening,  the  men 
were  left  to  Mr.  Ham;  and  the  mate,  while  fit  for  his  job, 
was  not  fit  for  Noll's.  Matters  went  from  bad  to 
worse.  .  .  . 

This  growing  slackness  culminated  in  tragedy.  Where 
matters  of  life  and  death  are  a  part  of  every  day,  safety 
lies  in  discipline ;  and  discipline  was  lax  on  the  Sally  Sims. 
On  a  day  when  the  skies  were  ugly  and  the  wind  was. 
freshening,  they  sighted  a  lone  bull  whale,  and  the  mate 
and  Willis  Cox  lowered  for  him  while  the  ship  worked  up- 
wind toward  where  the  creature  lay.  The  boats,  rowing, 
distanced  the  bark;  the  mate  struck  the  whale,  and  the 
creature  fluked  the  boat  so  that  its  planks  opened  and  it 
sank  till  it  was  barely  awash,  and  dipped  the  men  in  water 
to  their  necks.  Silva,  the  mate's  harpooner,  cut  the  line 
and  let  the  whale  run  free;  and  a  moment  later,  Willis 
Cox's  boat  got  fast  when  Loum  pitchpoled  his  great  har- 
poon over  thirty  feet  of  water  as  the  whale  went 
down.  .  .  . 

The  big  bull  began  to  run  headlong,  and  the  men  in 
Willis's  boat  balanced  on  the  sides  for  a  "  Nantucket 
Sleigh-ride."  The  whale  ran  straightaway,  so  tirelessly 
they  could  not  haul  up  on  the  line.  .  .  .  The  weather 
thickened  behind  them  and  hid  the  Sally  as  she  stopped  to 
pick  up  the  mate  and  his  wrecked  boat.  Then  a  squall 
struck,  and  night  came  swiftly  down.  .  .  . 

When  Willis  saw  it  was  hopeless  to  think  of  killing  the 
whale,  he  cut.  It  was  then  full  dark,  and  blowing.  Some 
rain  fell,  but  the  flying  spume  that  the  wind  clipped  from 


68  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

the  wave  tops  kept  the  boat  a  quarter  full  of  sea  water,  no 
matter  how  desperately  they  bailed.  Toward  midnight, 
the  thirsty  men  wished  to  drink. 

A  whaleboat  is  always  provisioned  against  the  emer- 
gency of  being  cast  adrift.  Biscuits  and  water  are  stored 
in  the  lantern  keg,  with  matches  and  whatever  else  may  be 
needful.  The  water  is  replenished  now  and  then,  that  it 
may  be  fresh.  .  .  . 

When  Willis  opened  the  lantern  keg,  he  found  the  water 
half  gone,  and  so  brackish  it  was  unfit  to  drink.  A  con- 
dition directly  to  be  attributed  to  the  weakening  of  dis- 
cipline aboard  the  Sally.  ...  A  serious  matter,  as  they 
knew  all  too  well  when  the  next  day  dawned  bright  and  hot, 
with  the  bark  nowhere  to  be  seen.  Their  thirst  increased 
tormentingly ;  and  on  the  third  day,  when  the  searching 
Sally  found  them,  two  men  were  dead  in  the  boat,  and  the 
other  four  were  in  little  better  case.  .  .  . 

Willis  had  worked  his  boat  toward  an  island  northeast 
of  the  position  where  he  lost  the  Sally;  Dan'l  Tobey  had 
guessed  what  Willis  would  do,  and  had  persuaded  Noll  to 
cruise  that  way.  When  they  picked  up  the  half  dead  men, 
Noll  decided  to  touch  at  the  island  for  food  and  fresh 
water ;  and  they  raised  it  in  mid-morning  of  the  second  day. 

They  had  seen  other  lands  since  the  cruise  began.  But 
these  other  lands  had  been  rocky  and  inhospitable.  .  .  . 
The  harsh  tops,  for  the  most  part,  of  mountains  that  rose 
from  the  sea's  depths  to  break  the  surface  of  the  sea. 
Men  dwelt  on  them,  clinging  like  goats  in  the  crannies  of 
the  rocks.  .  .  .  But  they  were  not  inviting.  This  island 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  69 

was  different.  When  Faith,  coming  on  deck  at  the  cry, 
saw  it  blue-green  against  the  horizon,  she  caught  her 
breath  at  the  beauty  of  it;  and  while  the  Sally  worked 
closer,  she  watched  with  wide  eyes  and  leaping  pulses.  She 
felt,  vaguely,  that  it  was  the  portal  of  a  new  world;  it 
was  lovely,  inviting,  pleasant.  .  .  .  She  was  suddenly  sick 
of  the  harsh  salt  of  the  sea,  sick  of  the  stinking  ship.  .  .  . 
She  wanted  soft  earth  beneath  her  feet,  trees  above  her 
head,  flowers  within  reach  of  her  hand.  .  .  . 

This  island  was  fair  and  smiling;  it  seemed  to  promise 
her  all  the  things  she  most  desired.  .  .  .  She  sought  Noll 
Wing. 

"  Are  you  going  ashore,  Noll?  "  she  asked. 

He  was  in  one  of  his  slothful  moods,  half  asleep  in  the 
after  cabin ;  and  he  shook  his  great  head.  "  No.  .  .  . 
Mates  will  get  what  we  need.  We'll  be  away  by  night." 

She  hesitated.  "  I  —  want  to  go  ashore,"  she  said. 
"  Won't  you  go  with  me?  " 

"  You  can  go,"  he  agreed,  readily  enough.  "  Nobody 
there  but  some  niggers  —  and  maybe  a  few  whites,  on  the 
beach.  Nothing  to  see.  .  .  ." 

"  There's  land,"  she  told  him,  smiling.  "  And  trees,  and 
flowers.  .  .  .  Do  come." 

"  You  go  along.     I'm  —  tired,  to-day." 

"  I'd  like  it  so  much  more  if  you  came  with  me." 

He  frowned  at  her,  impatient  at  her  insistence.  "  Stop 
the  talk,"  he  told  her  harshly.  "  I'm  not  going.  Go  if 
you  want  to.  But  be  still  about  it,  let  a  man  rest.  .  .  . 
I'm  tired,  Faith.  .  .  .  I'm  getting  old.  .  .  ." 


70  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

"  You  ought  to  look  after  getting  the  stuff  for  the 
ship,"  she  reminded  him.  "  After  all  —  you  are  respon- 
sible for  her.  .  .  ." 

"  Mr.  Ham  will  do  that,  better  than  me,"  he  said.  "  Go 
along." 

She  went  out,  reluctantly,  and  sought  the  mate.  His 
boat  and  James  Tichel's  were  to  go  ashore,  leaving  Dan'l 
in  charge  of  the  ship.  He  grinned  cheerfully  at  Faith's 
request,  and  bade  his  men  rig  a  stool  to  lower  her  into  the 
boat.  Faith  protested,  laughingly.  "  I  can  jump  down, 
as  well  as  a  man,"  she  said ;  and  he  nodded  assent  and 
forgot  her. 

She  was  in  his  boat  when  they  put  off  presently ;  she 
sat  astern,  while  Mr.  Ham  stood  above  her,  his  legs  spread 
to  steady  himself  against  the  movement  of  the  boat,  his 
weight  on  the  long  steering  oar  that  he  always  preferred 
to  the  tiller.  The  Sally  had  dropped  anchor  a  mile  off 
shore,  and  canoes  were  already  spinning  out  to  her.  The 
island  spread  before  them,  green  and  sparkling  in  the  sun ; 
and  the  white  beach  shone  like  silver.  ...  It  was  more 
than  a  coral  island ;  there  were  two  hills,  a  mile  or  so  in- 
land; and  the  white-washed  huts  of  a  considerable  village 
shone  against  the  trees.  The  canoes  met  them,  whirled 
about  them;  the  black  folk  shouted  and  clamored  and 
stared.  .  .  .  Mr.  Ham  waved  to  them,  talked  to  them  in  a 
queer  and  outlandish  mixture  of  tongues,  bade  them  go  on 
to  the  Sally.  ..."  Mr.  Tobey'll  buy  what  they've  got," 
he  told  Faith,  as  the  whaleboat  drove  ahead  for  the  shore. 

James  Tichel's  boat  was  well  astern  of  them,  dragging 
a  raft  of  floating  casks  which  would  be  filled  with  water 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  71 

and  towed  out  to  the  Sally.  He  was  still  far  from  shore 
when  they  drove  up  on  the  beach;  and  the  men  jumped  out 
into  the  shallow  water  and  dragged  the  boat  higher,  so 
that  Faith,  picking  her  way  over  the  thwarts,  could  step 
ashore  dry  shod  from  the  bow.  Her  feet  left  scarce  a 
mark  upon  the  hard,  white  sand. 

Mr.  Ham  said  to  her :  "  You  come  up  to  the  trees ;  you 
can  be  cool  there  while  we're  at  our  business." 

But  Faith  shook  her  head.  "  I'm  going  to  take  a  walk," 
she  said.  "  I  want  to  get  into  the  woods.  How  long  will 
you  be  here?  " 

He  hesitated  dubiously.  "  Guess  it's  all  right  if  you 
do,"  he  decided.  "  The  niggers  are  friendly.  .  .  .  Most 
of  'em  talk  English,  in  a  way.  Go  ahead." 

"  How  long  have  I  ?  "  Faith  asked  again.  He  said  they 
would  be  ashore  an  hour,  perhaps  more.  "  No  matter, 
anyway,"  he  told  her.  "  Stay  long  as  you  like.  Do  you 
want  I  should  send  a  man  with  you?  " 

Faith  told  him  she  was  not  afraid;  he  grinned.  She 
turned  southward  along  the  beach,  away  from  the  huddled 
village.  The  smooth  sand  was  so  firm  it  jarred  her  feet, 
and  she  moved  up  into  the  shade  of  the  trees,  and  followed 
them  for  a  space,  eyes  probing  into  the  tangle  beyond 
them,  lips  smiling,  every  sense  drinking  in  the  smells  of  the 
land.  .  .  .  When  she  came,  presently,  to  a  well-marked 
path  that  led  into  the  jungle-like  undergrowth,  she  hesi- 
tated, then  turned  in. 

Within  twenty  steps,  the  trees  closed  about  her,  shutting 
away  all  sight  of  the  sea.  For  a  little  longer  she  could 
hear  the  long  rollers  pounding  on  the  beach;  then  that 


72  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

sound,  too,  became  indistinct  and  dim.  ...  It  was 
drowned  in  the  thousand  tiny  noises  of  the  brush  about 
her.  Bird-notes,  crackling  of  twigs,  stirring  of  furry 
things.  Once  a  little  creature  of  a  sort  she  had  never  seen 
before,  yet  not  unlike  the  familiar  and  universal  rabbit, 
hopped  out  of  her  path  in  a  flurry  of  excitement. 

She  heard,  presently,  another  sound  ahead  of  her;  a 
sound  of  running,  falling  water ;  and  when  she  pressed  on 
eagerly,  she  came  out  upon  the  bank  of  a  clear  stream  that 
dropped  in  bright  cascades  from  one  deep,  cool  pool  to 
another.  She  guessed  this  stream  must  come  down  be- 
tween the  hills  she  had  seen  from  the  ship.  ...  It  was  all 
the  things  she  had  unwittingly  longed  for  during  the 
months  aboard  the  Sally.  It  was  cool,  and  clear,  and  gay, 
and  chuckling ;  the  sea  was  always  so  turbulent  and  harsh. 
She  followed  the  path  that  ran  up  the  northern  bank  of  the 
stream,  and  each  new  pool  seemed  more  inviting  than  the 
last.  .  .  .  She  wanted  to  wade  into  them,  to  feel  the  water 
on  her  shoulders  and  her  throat  and  her  arms.  .  .  .  Her 
smooth  skin  had  revolted  endlessly  against  the  bite  of  the 
salt  water  in  which  she  bathed  aboard  the  Sally;  it  yearned 
for  this  cool,  crystal  flood.  .  .  . 

She  put  aside  this  desire.  The  path  she  was  following 
was  a  well-beaten  trail.  People  must  use  it.  They  might 
come  this  way  at  any  time.  .  .  .  She  wished,  wistfully, 
that  she  might  be  sure  no  one  would  come.  .  .  .  And  so 
wishing,  she  pressed  on,  each  new  pool  among  the  rocks 
wooing  her  afresh,  and  urging  her  to  its  cool  embrace.  .  .  . 

She  heard,  in  the  wood  ahead  of  her,  an  increasing 
clamor  of  falling  water,  and  guessed  there  might  be  a  cas- 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  73 

cade  there  of  larger  proportions  than  she  had  yet  seen. 
The  path  left  the  stream  for  a  little,  winding  to  round  a 
tangle  of  thicker  underbrush ;  and  she  hurried  around  this 
tangle,  her  eyes  hungry  to  see  the  tumbling  water  she 
could  hear.  .  .  . 

Hurrying  thus,  she  came  out  suddenly  upon  the  lip  of 
the  pool.  .  .  .  Broad,  and  dark,  and  deep ;  its  upper  end 
walled  by  a  sheet  of  plunging  water  that  fell  in  a  mirror- 
like  veil  and  churned  the  pool  to  misty  foam.  Her  eyes 
drank  deep;  they  swung  around  the  pool.  .  .  .  And  then 
she  caught  her  breath,  and  shrank  back  a  little,  and 
pressed  her  hand  to  her  throat.  .  .  . 

Upon  a  rock,  not  fifty  feet  from  her,  his  back  half 
turned  as  he  poised  to  dive,  there  stood  a  man.  A  white 
man,  for  all  the  skin  of  his  whole  body  was  golden-brown 
from  long  exposure  to  the  open  air.  .  .  .  He  poised  there 
like  some  wood  god.  .  .  .  Faith  had  a  strange  feeling  that 
she  had  blundered  into  a  secret  temple  of  the  woods ;  that 
this  was  the  temple's  deity.  She  smiled  faintly  at  her  own 
fancy ;  smiled.  .  .  . 

God  has  made  nothing  more  beautiful  than  the  human 
body,  whether  it  be  man's  or  woman's.  Faith  thought,  in 
the  instant  that  she  watched,  that  this  bronzed  man  of  the 
woods  was  the  most  beautiful  thing  she  had  ever  seen.  .  .  . 
She  had  no  sense  of  shame  in  watching  him ;  she  had  only 
joy  in  the  sheer  beauty  of  him,  golden-brown  against  the 
green.  And  when,  even  as  she  first  saw  him,  he  leaped  and 
swung,  smooth  and  straight,  high  through  the  air,  and 
turned  with  arms  like  arrows  to  pierce  the  bosom  of  the 
pool,  she  gasped  a  little,  as  one  gasps  on  coming  suddenly 


74  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

out  upon  a  mountain  top,  with  the  world  outspread  be- 
low. .  .  .  Then  he  was  gone,  with  scarce  a  sound.  .  .  . 
She  saw  for  an  instant  the  golden  flash  of  him  in  the  pool's 
depths.  .  .  . 

His  brown  head  broke  the  water,  far  across  the  way. 
.  .  .  And  he  shook  back  his  hair,  and  passed  his  hands 
across  his  face  to  clear  his  eyes.  .  .  .  His  eyes  opened.  .  .  . 

His  eyes  opened,  and  he  saw  her  standing  there.  .  .  . 

There  were  seconds  on  end  that  they  remained  thus,  each 
held  by  the  other's  gaze.  Faith  could  not,  for  her  life, 
have  stirred.  The  spell  of  the  place  was  upon  her.  The 
man,  for  all  his  astonishment,  was  the  first  to  find  his 
tongue.  He  called  softly  across  the  water: 

"  Good  morning,  woman.  .  .  ." 

His  voice  was  so  gentle,  and  at  the  same  time  so  gay, 
that  Faith  was  not  alarmed.  She  smiled.  .  .  . 

"It's  after  noon,"  she  said.  "Good  afternoon  — 
manl" 


VIII 

WHEN  Faith  answered  him,   the  man's   face 
broke    in    smiles ;   he   told    her   laughingly : 
"  If  you're  so  familiar  with  the  habits  of  the 
sun,  you  must  be  a  real  woman,  and  not  a  dream  at  all. 
.  .  .  I'm  awake.  ...  I  am,  am  I  not  ?  " 

"I  should  think  you  would  be,"  said  Faith.  "That 
water  must  be  cold  enough  to  wake  any  one.  .  .  ." 

He  shook  his  head.  "  No,  indeed.  Just  pleasantly 
cool.  Dip  your  hand  in  it.  .  .  ." 

Something  led  her  to  obey  him;  she  bent  by  the  pool's 
sandy  brink  and  dabbled  her  fingers,  while  the  man,  a 
hundred  feet  away  at  the  very  foot  of  the  waterfall,  held 
his  place  with  the  effortless  ease  of  an  accustomed  swim- 
mer, and  watched  her.  "  Wasn't  I  right  ?  "  he  challenged. 

She  nodded.     "  It's  delicious.   .  .  ." 

He  said  quickly :  "  You  being  here  means  that  a  ship 
is  in,  of  course." 

"  Yes." 

"What  ship?" 

"  The  Sally  Sims  —  whaler.  .  .  ." 

"  The  Sally!  I  know  the  Sally,"  the  man  cried.  "  Is 
Noll  Wing  still  captain?  .  .  ." 

"  Of  course." 

His  eyes  were  thoughtful.  "I'm  in  luck,  woman,"  he 
said.  "  Listen.  LWU1  you  do  a  tiling  for  me?  " 

TS 


76  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

"  What  do  you  want  me  to  do  ?  " 

"  I've  a  sort  of  a  home,  up  on  the  hill  above  us  here.  .  .  . 
Observatory.  .  .  .  I've  been  waiting  four  months  for  a 
ship  to  come  along,  keeping  a  lookout  from  the  top  there. 
.  .  .  Missed  the  Sally,  somehow.  .  .  .  Must  have  come  up 
after  I  came  down.  .  .  ." 

"  We  made  the  island  a  little  before  noon,"  she  said. 

He  chuckled.  "  Ah,  I  was  in  my  boudoir  then.  ...  I 
want  to  ship  on  the  Sally.  Does  she  need  men  ?  " 

Her  eyes  clouded  thoughtfully.  "I  —  think  so,"  she 
said.  "  They  lost  two,  three  days  ago." 

"What  was  it?"  he  asked  quickly.  "Fighting 
whale.  .  .  ." 

She  shook  her  head.  "  Boat  got  lost  .  .  .  and  they 
were  short  of  water.  The  jug  wasn't  fresh  filled." 

The  man  whistled  softly.  "  That  doesn't  sound  like  one 
of  Noll  Wing's  boats,"  he  said.  "  Noll  is  a  stickler  on 
those  things.  .  .  ." 

Faith  bowed  her  head,  tracing  a  pattern  in  the  sand 
with  her  forefinger.  She  said  nothing.  The  man  asked: 
"  How  long  before  they  sail?  " 

"  They're  going  to  wait  for  me,"  she  said. 

His  eyes  lighted,  and  he  chuckled.  "  Good.  Now,  lis- 
ten. ...  If  you'll  be  so  kind  as  to  turn  your  back.  .  .  . 
You  see,  I've  been  running  wild  here  for  the  past  few 
months,  and  my  clothes  are  all  up  at  my  place.  I'll  trot 
up  there  and  get  them  and  come  back  here.  .  .  .  Get  a 
few  things  that  I  don't  want  to  leave.  .  .  .  Will  you  turn 
your  back?  .  .  ."  She  had  done  so,  and  she  heard  the 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  77 

water  stir  as  he  raced  for  the  shore  and  landed.  "  I'm 
going,  now,"  he  called. 

"  How  long  will  you  be?  "  she  asked. 

"  Not  over  an  hour,"  he  told  her.  "  About  an 
hour." 

"  I'm  afraid  some  one  may  come  along  this  path.  .  .  . 
Will  they?  .  .  .  Should  I  hide  from  them?  .  .  ." 

He  laughed.  "  Bless  you,  this  is  my  private  path ;  it's 
officially  taboo  to  the  natives,  by  special  arrangement  with 
the  old  witch  doctor  effect  that  runs  their  affairs.  There 
won't  be  a  soul  along.  .  .  .  I'll  be  back  in  an  hour.  .  .  ." 

"  I'll  wait,"  she  agreed  softly.  There  was  a  light  of 
mischief  in  her  eyes.  Still  standing  with  her  face  down 
stream,  she  heard  his  bare  feet  pad  the  earth  of  the  path 
for  a  moment  before  the  sound  was  lost  in  the  laughing  of 
the  waterfall.  ...  A  moment  later,  his  shout :  "  I'm 
gone." 

She  sat  down  quickly  on  the  sand,  smiling  to  herself,  sure 
of  what  she  wished  to  do.  She  slipped  off  her  shoes  and 
her  stockings  with  quick  fingers ;  and  she  gathered  her 
skirts  high  about  her  thighs  and  stepped  with  one  foot 
and  then  another  into  the  pleasant  waters  of  the  pool. 
They  rippled  around  her  ankles;  she  went  deeper.  .  .  . 
The  waters  played  above  her  knees,  while  she  balanced 
precariously  in  the  swirling  current  and  gathered  her  skirts 
high.  .  .  . 

The  water  was  soothing  as  Heaven  itself,  after  the  salt. 
.  .  .  But  she  was  not  satisfied.  .  .  .  Merely  wading.  .  .  . 
She  stood  for  a  little,  listening,  gathering  courage,  striv- 


78  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

ing  to  pierce  the  shadows  of  the  bush  about  her  with  her 
eyes.  .  .  .  These  first  months  of  her  marriage  had 
driven  a  measure  of  her  youth  out  of  Faith;  they  had 
been  sober  days,  and  days  more  sober  still  were  yet  to 
come.  But  for  this  hour,  a  gay  irresponsibility  flooded 
her ;  she  waded  ashore,  singing  under  her  breath.  .  .  .  She 
began  swiftly  to  loosen  her  skirt  at  the  waist.  .  .  . 

When  the  man  came  trotting  down  the  trail  at  last, 
shouting  ahead  to  her  as  he  came,  Faith  was  sitting  de- 
murely upon  the  sand,  clothed  and  in  her  right  mind.  .  .  . 
She  was  trying  to  appear  unconscious  of  the  fact  that 
around  the  back  of  her  neck,  and  her  pink  little  ears,  wet 
tendrils  of  hair  were  curling.  .  .  .  When  he  came  in  sight, 
she  rose  gravely  to  meet  him;  and  he  looked  at  her  with 
quick,  keen  eyes,  and  laughed.  .  .  .  She  turned  red  as  a 
flame.  .  .  . 

"I  don't  blame  you,"  he  said.  "It's  a  beautiful 
pool.  .  .  ." 

She  wanted  to  be  angry  with  him ;  but  she  could  not. 
.  .  .  His  laughter  was  infectious ;  she  smiled  at  him. 
"I  —  couldn't  resist  it,"  she  said.  .  .  . 

She  was  studying  the  man.  He  wore,  now,  the  accus- 
tomed garments  of  a  seaman,  the  clothes  which  the  men 
aboard  the  Sally  wore.  Harsh  and  awkward  garments ; 
yet  they  could  not  hide  the  graceful  strength  of  the  man. 
He  was  not  so  big  as  Noll,  she  thought ;  not  quite  as  big  as 
even  Danl  Tobey.  .  .  .  Yet  there  was  such  symmetry  in 
his  limbs  and  the  breadth  of  his  shoulders  that  he  seemed  a 
well-bulked  man.  His  cheeks  were  lean  and  brown,  and 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  79 

his  lips  met  with  a  pleasant  firmness.  ...  A  man  natu- 
rally gay,  she  thought ;  yet  with  strength  in  him.  .  .  . 

They  started  down  the  path  toward  the  sea  together. 
He  carried  a  cloth-wrapped  bundle,  swinging  in  his  hand. 
She  looked  at  him  sidewise;  asked:  "Who  are  you? 
How  do  you  come  to  be  here?  " 

"  My  name's  Brander,"  he  said.  "  I  was  third  mate  on 
the  Thomas  Morgan." 

She  tried  to  remember  a  whaler  by  that  name.  "  New 
Bedford?  "  she  asked. 

"No.  .  .  .  Nantucketer." 

Faith  looked  at  him  curiously.  "  But  —  what  hap- 
pened? Was  she  lost?  .  .  ." 

Brander's  face  was  sober;  he  hesitated.  "No,  not 
lost,"  he  said.  He  did  not  seem  minded  to  go  on;  and 
Faith  asked  again: 

"What  happened?" 

He  laughed  uneasily.  "  I  left  them,"  he  said,  and  again 
seemed  to  wish  to  let  the  matter  rest.  But  Faith  would  not. 

"  Is  there  any  reason  why  you  should  not  tell  me  all 
about  it  ?  "  she  asked. 

"  No." 

•'  Then  tell  me,  please.  .  .  .»' 

He  threw  up  his  free  hand  in  a  gesture  of  surrender. 
"  All  right,"  he  said.  .  .  . 

They  were  following  the  narrow  path  down  the  stream's 
side  toward  the  sea.  Faith  was  ahead,  Brander  on  her 
heels.  After  a  moment,  he  went  on.  .  .  . 

"  A  man  named  Marks  was  the  skipper  of  the  Thomas 
Morgan.  I  shipped  aboard  her  as  a  seaman.  I'd  had 


80  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

one  cruise  before.  .  .  .  Not  with  him.  I  shipped  with 
him.  .  .  .  And  I  found  out,  within  two  days,  that  I'd  made 
a  mistake. 

"Not  that  they  were  hard  on  me.  I  knew  my  job, 
after  a  fashion;  and  .  .  .  they  let  me  alone.  But  the 
men  had  a  tough  time  of  it.  It  was  a  tough  ship,  through 
and  through.  Marks ;  and  his  mate.  .  .  .  Mate's  name 
was  Trant,  and  I'd  not  like  to  meet  that  man  on  a  dark 
night.  There  was  murder  in  him.  .  .  .  The  sheer  love  of 
it.  ...  He  was  the  sort  of  man  that  will  catch  a  shark 
just  for  the  fun  of  spiking  the  creature's  jaws  and  turning 
him  loose  again.  ...  I  was  in  Taku  once.  .  .  .  Saw  a 
little  China  boy  catch  a  dragon  fly  and  tie  a  twig  to  its 
tail  and  let  it  go.  The  twig  overbalanced  the  dragon 
fly —  It  went  straight  up  into  the  air,  fast  as  it  could 
wing.  .  .  .  May  be  going  yet.  .  .  .  That  was  the  sort  of 
trick  Trant  would  have  liked. 

"  Not  that  he  ever  actually  killed  a  man  on  this  cruise. 
Better  if  he  had,  for  the  men.  But  he  didn't. 

"A  big  fellow.  Heavy  fisted;  but  he  wasn't  satisfied 
with  the  fist.  The  boot  for  him.  .  .  ." 

They  were  climbing  a  little  knoll  in  the  path;  he  fell 
silent  while  they  climbed;  and  Faith  thought  of  Noll 
Wing  and  Mauger.  .  .  . 

"  Well,"  said  Brander.  "  Well,  you  know  how  things 
drag  along.  .  .  .  We  dragged  along.  .  .  .  Then,  one  day, 
we  touched.  .  .  .  We'd  gone  around  into  the  Japan  Sea. 
Marks  and  Trant  walked  up  to  the  second  mate  and  took 
him,  between  them,  into  a  boat,  and  took  him  ashore.  .  .  . 
They  came  back  without  him.  He  was  a  man  as  biff  as 

O 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  81 

Trant,  but  he  had  crossed  Trant,  more  than  once.  .  .  . 
Trant  had  a  face  that  was  cut  to  ribbons  when  he  came 
back  aboard ;  but  the  other  man  did  not  come  back  at  all. 
I  never  knew  what  the  particular  quarrel  was.  .  .  . 

"  They  shoved  the  third  mate  up  to  the  second,  and  put 
me  in  as  third.  I  said  to  myself:  'All  right.  .  .  .  But 
don't  go  to  sleep,  Brander.'  And  I  didn't.  It  didn't  pay. 
...  I  couldn't." 

He  waved  his  hand  as  though  to  dismiss  what  followed 
with  a  word.  .  .  .  Nevertheless,  he  went  on : 

"  There  was  a  man  in  my  boat.  .  .  .  He  was  called 
*  Lead-Foot '  by  every  one,  because  he  was  a  slow-moving 
man.  He  was  not  good  for  much.  He  was  very  much 
afraid  of  every  one.  Especially  Trant.  He  was  bigger 
than  Trant,  so  Trant  took  a  certain  satisfaction  from 
abusing  him.  I  decided  to  interfere  with  this.  I  told 
this  big  coward  who  was  in  my  boat  to  keep  out  of  Trant's 
way ;  and  I  told  Trant,  jokingly,  one  day,  to  leave  my  men 
alone.  He  was  huffed  at  that ;  growled  at  me."  Brander 
chuckled.  "  So  I  swelled  up  my  chest  like  a  fighting  cock 
and  told  him  to  keep  hands  off.  Oh,  I  threw  a  great  bluff, 
I  can  tell  you.  But  Trant  was  not  a  coward.  He  waited 
his  time ;  and  I  knew  he  was  waiting.  .  .  . 

"  And  while  he  waited,  he  talked  to  the  captain ;  and  I 
could  see  them  both  whispering  together.  They  whis- 
pered about  me.  They  did  not  like  to  have  me  about; 
and  once  Marks  threatened  to  put  me  back  in  the  fo'c's'le ; 
but  he  changed  his  mind. 

"  So  matters  were  till  we  came  past  an  island  to  the 
north  of  here,  forty  or  fifty  miles.  We  made  that  island 


82  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

at  dusk,  and  worked  nearer  it  after  darkness  had  fallen. 
It  came  on  cloudy  and  dark.  .  .  . 

"  I  met  Trant  on  the  deck ;  and  I  said  to  him :  '  Do  we 
go  ashore  here? '  He  grinned  at  me  with  his  teeth  and 
bade  me  wait  till  morning  and  see.  And  that  was  enough 
for  me.  I  knew  what  was  coming.  I  thought  I  would 
hurry  it  a  little ;  but  luck  hurried  it  for  me,  in  a  way  that 
worked  out  very  well. 

"  This  lead-footed  man  was  at  the  wheel.  When  the 
anchor  went  down,  he  started  forward  and  brushed  against 
Trant.  Trant  may  have  meant  it  to  be  so.  Anyway, 
Trant  knocked  the  lead-foot  flying,  and  went  after  him 
with  the  boot,  jumping,  as  lumbermen  do.  There  hap- 
pened to  be  a  belaying  pin  handy.  So  I  took  it  and 
cracked  Trant,  and  he  dropped  in  mid-leap.  .  .  .  Then 
Marks  jumped  me;  and  I  managed  to  wriggle  out  from 
under  him,  and  he  fell  and  banged  his  head.  And  he  lay 
still ;  but  Trant  was  up,  by  then,  and  at  me. 

'*  The  lead-footed  man  was  yelling  in  my  ear.  I  told 
him  to  go  overboard  and  swim  for  it;  and  he  did.  And 
just  then  Trant  got  in  the  way  of  the  belaying  pin  again, 
and  this  time  he  did  not  seem  to  want  to  get  up. 

'*  There  was  some  confusion,  you  understand.  I  did  not 
stay  to  straighten  things  out.  I  went  over,  after  Lead- 
Foot.  .  .  .  He  could  swim  like  a  porpoise.  He  was  ahead 
of  me,  but  half  way  in  he  met  a  shark,  and  came  clamor- 
ing back  to  me  to  be  saved.  So  I  got  out  of  his  way  for 
fear  he  would  drag  us  both  under,  and  then  I  kicked  at  the 
shark,  and  it  went  about  its  business,  and  we  swam  on. 
.  .  .  They  were  too  busy  sluicing  the  Old  Man  and  Trant 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  88 

to  come  after  us  in  a  boat.  .  .  .  They  could  have  knocked 
us  in  the  head  with  an  oar.  .  .  .  But  they  didn't.  .  .  . 

"  However,  Lead-Foot  took  the  shark  so  seriously  that 
he  swam  too  fast.  Or  something  of  the  sort.  .  .  .  Any- 
way, he  keeled  when  we  touched  sand,  and  I  felt  him  and 
found  that  he  was  dead  with  heart  failure  or  the  like.  I 
didn't  stop  to  work  over  him.  I  could  hear  Trant  bel- 
lowing. He  had  come  to  life;  and  a  boat  was  racing 
after  me. 

"  So  I  went  into  the  bush  and  stayed  there  till  the 
Thomas  Morgan  took  herself  off.  After  that,  not  liking 
the  island,  which  was  low  and  marshy,  I  borrowed  a  native 
canoe  and  came  over  here.  .  .  .  And  I've  been  here,  since." 

They  were  within  sound  of  the  rollers  on  the  beach  when 
he  finished.  Faith  was  silent  for  a  little;  then  she  asked: 
"  Were  there  other  white  men  here?  Why  didn't  you  stay 
at  the  village  ?  " 

"  There  was  too  much  society  there,"  said  Branderr 
grinning  amiably.  "  I'm  a  solitary  man,  by  nature.  So  I 
went  up  into  the  hills.  Besides,  I  could  watch  for  ships, 
there.  .  .  .  I'd  no  notion  of  staying  here  indefinitely,  you 
understand.  .  .  ." 

Faith  was  filling  out  the  gaps  in  his  narrative  from  her 
own  understanding  of  the  life  aboard  a  whaler.  She  could 
guess  what  Brander  must  have  endured;  she  thought  he 
had  done  well  to  come  through  it  and  still  smile.  .  .  .  She 
thought  he  was  a  man.  .  .  . 

They  could  see  the  surf,  through  the  thinning  bush, 
when  he  said :  "  You  haven't  told  me  how  you  happen 
to  be  aboard  the  Sally  Sims.  .  .  ." 


84  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

Faith  had  almost  forgotten,  herself.  She  remembered, 
and  something  like  a  chill  of  sorrow  struck  down  upon 
her.  But :  "  I  am  Noll  Wing's  wife,"  she  said. 

They  came  out,  abruptly,  into  the  white  glare  of  the 
beach.  Mr.  Ham's  boat  was  drawn  up,  a  quarter-mile 
away.  Brander  looked  toward  it,  looked  at  Faith. 

"  Ah,"  he  said  quietly.  "  Then  yonder  is  your  hus- 
band's boat,  waiting.  .  .  .  Noll  Wing  is  an  able  skip- 
per. .  .  ." 

Faith  said  nothing.  They  went  on,  side  by  side,  toward 
Mr.  Ham. 


IX 

WHEN  Mr.  Ham,  waiting  by  the  boat  with  his 
men,  saw  Faith  coming  and  saw  the  stranger 
at   her  side,  he  came  to   meet   them.     His 
bearing  was  inclined  to  truculence.     Faith  was  ashore  here 
in  his  charge ;  if  this  man  had  disturbed  her.  .  .  . 

Faith  reassured  him.  "  I've  a  hand  for  you,  Mr.  Ham," 
she  called.  "  You  need  men." 

Mr.  Ham  stopped,  ten  paces  from  them,  with  legs  spread 
wide.  He  looked  from  Faith  to  Brander.  Brander  smiled 
in  a  friendly  way.  "  Can  you  use  me?  "  he  asked.  "  I 
know  the  work." 

Mr.  Ham  frowned  thoughtfully.  "  What's  this, 
ma'am?  "  he  asked  Faith.  "  Who's  that  man?  " 

Faith  said  quietly :  "  Ask  him.  I  believe  he  wants  to 
ship.  I  told  him  we  were  short." 

The  mate  looked  to  Brander.  His  attitude  toward 
Faith  had  been  deferential ;  toward  Brander  he  assumed 
unconsciously  the  terrorizing  frown  which  he  was  accus- 
tomed to  turn  upon  the  men.  "  What  do  you  want?  "  he 
challenged. 

Brander  said  pleasantly :     "  To  ship  with  you." 

"  What  are  you  doing  here?  " 

"  I  was  third  mate  on  the  Thomas  Morgan,"  said 
Brander. 

"  Cap'n  Marks?  "  Mr.  Ham  asked. 

85 


86  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

«  Yes." 

"  We've  no  use  for  any  o'  Marks's  mates  aboard  the 

Sally." 

Brander  smiled.  "I  wasn't  thinking  of  shipping  as 
mate.  Can  you  use  a  hand  ?" 

"  Where's  the  Thomas  Morgan?  " 

"  On  th'  Solander  Grounds,  likely." 

"  Howcome  you're  not  with  her?  " 

"  I  left  them,  hereabouts." 

"  Left  them?  " 

"  Yes." 

"  They've  not  the  name  of  letting  men  go." 

"  They  had  no  choice.  They  were  —  otherwise  ea- 
gaged  when  I  took  my  leave." 

"  That's  a  slovenly  ship,"  said  Mr.  Ham. 

"  One  reason  why  I'm  not  on  her  now." 

The  mate  frowned.  "  I'm  not  saying  it's  not  in  your 
favor  that  you  got  away  from  them.  .  .  .  And  we  do  need 
men."  He  added  hastily :  "  Men ;  not  officers." 

"  That  suits  me." 

Mr.  Ham  looked  around.  Faith  stood  a  little  at  one 
side,  listening  quietly.  The  Sally  rocked  on  the  swells 
outside.  ..."  Well,  come  aboard,"  said  the  mate.  "  See 
what  the  Old  Man  says." 

Brander  nodded.  "  Thanks,  sir,"  he  said.  He 
adopted,  easily  and  without  abasement,  the  attitude  of  a 
fo'mast  hand  toward  the  officer,  and  went  ahead  of  the 
mate  and  Faith  to  stow  his  bundle  in  the  boat.  The  other 
men  waiting  there  questioned  him ;  but  they  all  fell  silent 
as  Mr.  Ham  and  Faith  came  to  where  the  boat  waited. 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  87 

Tichel  had  already  taken  the  water  casks  out  to  the 
whaler.  The  men  took  the  whaleboat  and  dragged  it 
down  to  the  water.  When  it  was  half  afloat,  Faith  and 
the  mate  got  in.  The  men  shoved  off,  wading  till  the 
water  was  deep  enough  for  them  to  clamber  aboard  and 
snatch  their  oars  and  push  out  through  the  rollers.  .  .  . 
They  worked  desperately  for  a  little,  till  they  were  clear 
of  the  turbulent  waters  of  the  beach ;  then  settled  to  their 
work.  .  .  . 

Brander  sat  amidships,  his  bundle  at  his  feet,  lending  a 
hand  now  and  then  on  the  oar  of  the  man  who  faced  him. 
Once  he  looked  toward  Faith;  she  met  his  eyes.  .  .  . 
Neither  spoke,  neither  smiled.  .  .  .  The  island  was  reced- 
ing behind  them ;  Brander  turned  to  watch  it.  They  drew 
alongside  the  Sally. 

Dan'l  Tobey  was  at  the  rail  to  receive  them.  The  mate 
stood  in  the  tossing  boat  and  lifted  Faith  easily  to  Dan'l 
at  the  rail;  he  swung  her  aboard.  Mr.  Ham  followed; 
then  Brander;  then  the  men.  The  mate  saw  to  the  un- 
loading of  the  boat,  saw  it  safely  stowed.  Then  turned 
to  Brander. 

"  Come  and  see  the  Old  Man,"  he  said. 

Dan'l  Tobey  heard.  "  He's  asleep,"  he  told  Mr.  Ham. 
"Who  is  this?" 

The  mate  said :  "  He  wants  to  ship.  Says  he  was  on 
the  Thomas  Morgan." 

Dan'l  looked  at  Brander.  Mr.  Ham  added:  "The 
captain's  wife  found  him  in  the  bush." 

Dan'l  drawled:     "Beach  comber.  .  .  .  Eh?" 

Brander  said  respectfully :     "  No,  sir.     I  lived  on  the 


88  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

hill,  there.  .  .  .  The  highest  one.  You  can  make  out  my 
place  with  the  glass.  .  .  ." 

"  He  was  third  mate  on  the  Thomas  Morgan"  said  Mr. 
Ham. 

"  We  don't  need  an  officer,"  Dan'l  suggested.  Brander 
sensed  the  fact  that  Dan'l  disliked  him ;  he  wondered  at  it. 

"  I'm  asking  to  ship  as  a  seaman,  sir,"  he  said. 

Mr.  Ham  looked  at  Dan'l.  "  Best  speak  to  the  cap- 
tain ?  "  he  asked. 

"  Oh,  set  him  ashore,"  Dan'l  suggested.  "  He's  a 
troublemaker.  Too  wise  for  the  fo'c's'le.  .  .  ."  He 
looked  to  Brander  insolently.  "  Can't  you  see  he's  a  man 
of  education,  Mr.  JIam?  What  would  he  want  to  ship 
before  the  mast  for?  " 

Mr.  Ham  looked  puzzled.  "  How  about  it?  "  he  asked 
Brander  sharply.  Brander  smiled. 

"  I  did  it,  in  the  beginning,  for  sport,"  he  said.  "  Now 
I'm  doing  it  to  get  home.  If  you  need  a  man.  ...  If 
not,  I'll  go  ashore.  .  .  ." 

Faith,  standing  by,  said  quietly :  "  Ship  him,  Mr. 
Ham."  Her  words  were  not  a  request ;  they  were  a  com- 
mand. Dan'l  looked  at  her  swiftly,  shrewdly.  Mr.  Ham 
obeyed,  with  the  instant  instinct  of  obedience  to  that 
tone.  .  .  . 

It  was  not  till  days  later  that  Faith  wondered  why  she 
had  spoken ;  wondered  why  she  had  ventured  to  command. 
.  .  .  And  wondered  why  Mr.  Ham  obeyed.  ...  It  gave 
her,  somehow,  a  sense  of  power.  .  .  .  He  had  obeyed  her, 
as  he  would  have  obeyed  Noll,  her  husband.  .  .  . 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  89 

At  the  moment,  however,  having  spoken,  she  went  be- 
low. .  .  .  She  went  quickly,  a  little  confused.  She  found 
Noll  asleep,  as  Dan'l  had  said ;  and  she  did  not  wake  him. 
The  Sally  got  to  sea.  .  .  .  The  island  fell  into  the  sea  be- 
hind them.  Before  it  was  fully  gone,  Faith,  with  the  cap- 
tain's glass,  had  searched  that  highest  hill  from  the  win- 
dows of  the  after  cabin ;  she  discerned  a  little  clearing,  a 
rude  hut.  .  .  .  Brander's  home.  .  .  . 

She  watched  it  for  a  space;  then  put  the  glass  aside 
with  thoughtful  eyes. 

Brander's  coming,  in  ways  that  could  hardly  be  defined, 
eased  the  tension  aboard  the  Sally.  When  the  man  went 
forward  to  stow  his  belongings  in  the  fo'c's'le,  he  found  the 
men  surly.  .  .  .  Quarrelsome.  .  .  .  They  looked  at  him 
sidewise.  .  .  .  They  covertly  inspected  him.  .  .  . 

The  men  of  a  whaler's  crew  are  a  polyglot  lot,  picked 
up  from  the  gutters  and  the  depths.  There  were  good 
men  aboard  the  Sally,  strong  men,  who  knew  their  work. 
.  .  .  Some  of  them  had  served  Noll  Wing  before ;  some 
had  made  more  than  one  voyage  on  the  ships  of  old  Jona- 
than Felt.  There  was  loyalty  in  these  men,  and  a  pride 
in  their  tasks.  .  .  .  But  there  were  others  who  were  slack ; 
and  there  were  others  who  were  evil.  .  .  .  The  green  hands 
had  been  made  over  into  able  seamen,  according  to  a 
whaler's  standard;  and  some  of  them  had  become  men  in 
the  process,  and  some  had  become  something  less  than 
men.  Yet  they  all  knew  their  work,  and  did  it.  ... 

But  they  were,  when  Brander  came  among  them,  surly 
and  ugly.  In  the  days  that  followed,  tending  strictly  to 


90  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

his  own  work,  he  nevertheless  found  time  to  study  them. 
...  A  man  with  a  tongue  naturally  gay,  and  a  smile  that 
inspired  friendship,  he  began  to  jest  with  them.  .  .  .  And 
little  by  little,  they  responded.  .  .  .  Their  surliness 
passed.  .  .  . 

The  officers  felt  the  change.  Willis  Cox,  still  half  sick 
from  the  ordeal  that  had  killed  two  of  his  men,  took 
Brander  into  his  boat.  Brander  was  only  a  year  or  two 
older  than  Willis,  but  he  was  vastly  more  mature.  .  .  . 
He  knew  men,  and  he  knew  the  work  of  the  ship;  and 
Willis  liked  him.  He  let  Brander  have  his  way  with  the 
other  men,  and  his  liking  for  the  newcomer  led  him  to 
speak  of  it  in  the  cabin,  at  supper  one  night.  "  He's  a 
good  man,"  he  said.  "  The  men  like  him." 

Dan'l  Tobey  said  pleasantly :  "  He's  after  your  berth, 
Will.  Best  watch  him." 

Willis  said  honestly :  "  He  knows  more  about  the  work 
than  I  do.  I  don't  blame  him.  But  —  he  keeps  where  he 
belongs.  .  .  ." 

"  He  will  ...  till  he  sees  his  chance,"  Dan'l  agreed. 
w  Don't  let  him  get  away  from  you." 

Old  James  Tichel  grinned  malignantly.  "  Nor  don't 
let  him  get  in  my  way,  Mr.  Cox,"  he  said,  showing  his 
teeth.  "  I  do  not  like  the  cut  of  him." 

The  mate  looked  at  Cap'n  Noll  Wing;  but  Noll  was 
eating,  he  seemed  not  to  have  heard.  Faith,  at  her  hus- 
band's side,  said  nothing.  So  Mr.  Ham  kept  out  of  the 
discussion.  Only  he  wondered  —  he  was  not  a  discerning 
man  —  why  Dan'l  disliked  the  newcomer.  Brander  seemed 
to  Mr.  Ham  to  be  a  lucky  find ;  they  had  needed  a  man, 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  91 

they  had  found  a  first-rater.  That  was  his  view  of  the 
matter. 

Brander's  coming  had  worked  like  a  leaven  among  the 
men.  That  was  patent  to  every  one.  .  .  .  But  this  was 
not  necessarily  a  good  thing.  A  dominant  man  in  the 
fo'c's'le  is,  if  the  man  be  evil,  a  dangerous  matter.  The 
officers  rule  their  men  by  virtue  of  the  fact  that  the  men 
are  not  united.  Union  among  the  men  against  the  officers 
breeds  mutiny.  .  .  .  Dan'l  said  as  much,  now. 

"  He'll  get  the  men  after  him  like  sheep,"  he  said  an- 
grily. "  Then  —  look  out." 

"  We  can  handle  that,"  said  Mr.  Ham. 

Dan'l  grinned.  "  Aye,  that's  what  is  always  said  — 
till  it  is  too  late  to  handle  them.  The  man  ought  to  have 
been  left  on  the  beach,  where  he  belonged." 

Faith  said  quietly :  "  I  spoke  for  him.  It  seems  to  me 
he  does  his  work." 

Dan'l  looked  up  quickly,  a  retort  on  his  lips;  but  he 
remembered  himself  in  time.  "  I'm  wrong,"  he  said 
frankly.  "  Brander  is  a  good  man.  No  doubt  the  whole 
matter  will  turn  out  all  right.  .  .  ." 

Cap'n  Wing,  finishing  his  dinner,  said  fretfully: 
"  There's  too  much  talk  of  this  man.  I'm  sick  of  it. 
Keep  an  eye  on  him,  Mr.  Ham.  If  he  looks  sidewise,  clip 
him.  But  don't  talk  so  much.  .  .  ." 

The  mate  nodded  seriously.     "  I'll  watch  him,  sir." 

Dan'l  said :  "  I've  no  right  to  talk  against  him,  sir. 
No  doubt  he's  all  right." 

Noll  shook  his  great  head  like  a  horse  that  is  harassed 
by  a  fly.  "  I  tell  you  I  want  no  more  words  about  him, 


92  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

Mr.  Tobey.  Be  still."  He  got  up  and  stalked  into  his 
cabin.  Faith  followed  him.  The  officers,  one  by  one. 
went  on  deck.  Willis,  there,  came  to  Dan'l. 

"  You  really  think  he  means  trouble,  Mr.  Tobey?  " 

Dan'l  smiled.  "  If  he  were  in  my  boat,  I'd  keep  an  eye 
peeled,"  he  said. 

Young  Willis  Cox  set  his  jaw.  "  By  God,  I  will  that," 
he  swore. 

Dan'l  pointed  forward;  and  Willis  looked  and  saw 
Brander  talking  with  Mauger,  the  one-eyed  man,  by  the 
lee  rail.  "  Mark  that,"  said  Dan'l.  "  They're  a  chummy 
pair,  those  two." 

Willis  frowned.  "  That's  queer,  too,"  he  said. 
"  Mauger  —  he's  not  much  of  a  man.  Why  should  Bran- 
der take  up  with  him,  anyhow?  " 

Dan'l  smiled,  sidewise.  "  Does  Mauger  —  Is  Mauger 
the  captain's  man  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  No.     Hates  him  like  death  and  hell." 

"  And  Brander  plays  up  to  him.  .  .  ." 

"  Because  Mauger  hates  the  Old  Man.  Is  that  it?  " 
Willis  asked  anxiously. 

"  I'm  saying  no  word,"  protested  Dan'l  Tobey.  ««  See 
for  yourself,  Will." 


KIY  KILCUP  was  another  who  did  not  like  Bran- 
der.  This  was  in  part  a  consequence  of  his 
position  on  the  Sally,  in  part  the  result  of  Dan'l 
Tobey's  skillful  tongue.  Dan'l  saw  the  tendency  in  Roy, 
and  capitalized  it. 

Roy  lived  in  the  cabin,  where  his  duties  as  ship's  boy 
kept  him  for  most  of  the  time.  It  was  true  that  in  pay 
he  ranked  below  the  men,  that  he  was  of  small  account  in 
the  general  scheme  of  work  aboard  the  whaler ;  but  he  lived 
in  the  cabin,  he  was  of  the  select,  and  to  that  extent  he 
was  set  apart  from  the  men.  Also,  he  was  the  brother  of 
the  captain's  wife,  and  that  gave  him  prestige. 

There  was  no  great  harm  in  Roy,  but  he  was  at  that  age 
where  boys  worship  men,  and  not  always  the  best  men. 
Also,  he  was  at  what  might  be  called  the  cocky  age.  He 
felt  that  the  fact  of  his  living  in  the  cabin  made  him  supe- 
rior to  the  men  who  hived  in  the  fo'c's'le;  and  this  feeling 
showed  itself  in  his  attitude  toward  them.  He  liked  to 
order  them  around.  .  .  .  They  were  for  the  most  part 
willing  to  obey  him  in  the  minor  matters  with  which  he 
concerned  himself. 

Roy  saw,  as  soon  as  any  one,  that  Brander  was  a  man 
above  the  average.  The  day  Brander  was  found  on  the 
island,  he  had  gone  ashore  with. Mr.  Tichel,  and  roved 
through  the  little  native  village,  and  returned  to  the  ship 

93 


94  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

with  the  third  mate  before  Faith  appeared.  Faith  had 
suggested  that  he  go  with  her,  but  the  boy  scorned  the 
notion  of  poking  through  the  woods.  .  .  .  He  was  thus 
back  on  the  ship  when  Brander  appeared.  .  .  .  But  he 
heard  Dan'l  Tobey  object  to  the  man,  and  he  took  his  cue 
from  Dan'l.  He  disliked  Brander. 

This  dislike  was  accentuated  by  a  small  thing  which 
happened  in  the  second  week  Brander  was  on  the  Sally. 
They  had  killed  a  whale  and  cut  it  in ;  and  because  the 
weather  was  bad,  it  had  been  a  task  for  all  hands.  The 
men  were  tired;  but  after  the  job  was  done,  the  regular 
watches  were  resumed.  .  .  .  Dan'l  Tobey's  watch,  which 
included  Brander,  took  first  turn  at  scrubbing  up;  and 
when  they  went  off  and  the  other  watch  came  on,  Roy 
was  forward,  fishing  over  the  bow.  He  saw  the  tired  men 
trooping  forward  and  dropping  into  the  fo'c's'le ;  and  he 
hailed  Brander. 

"  You,  Brander,"  he  called,  in  his  shrill,  boy's  voice. 
"  Get  my  other  line,  from  the  starboard  rail,  under  the 
boathouse.  Look  sharp,  now !  " 

Now  Roy  had  no  right  in  the  world  to  give  orders, 
except  as  a  messenger  of  authority,  and  Brander  knew  this. 
So  Brander  said  amiably :  "  Sorry,  youngster.  I'm 
tired.  Your  legs  are  spry  as  mine.  .  .  ." 

And  he  descended  into  the  fo'c's'le  with  no  further  word, 
while  Roy's  face  blazed  with  humiliation,  and  the  men  who 
had  heard  laughed  under  their  breath.  Some  boys  would 
have  stormed,  beaten  out  their  strength  in  futile  efforts  to 
compel  Brander  to  do  their  bidding;  Roy  had  cooler  blood 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  05 

in  him.  He  fell  abruptly  silent ;  he  went  on  with  his 
fishing.  .  .  .  But  he  did  not  forget.  .  .  . 

He  told  Dan'l  Tobey  about  it.  Dan'l  was  his  confidant, 
in  this  as  in  other  things.  And  Dan'l  comforted  him. 

"  Best  forget  it,  Roy,"  he  said.  "  No  good  in  going  to 
the  Old  Man.  The  man  was  right.  .  .  .  He  didn't  have 
to  do  it.  .  .  ." 

"  There  was  no  reason  why  he  should  be  impertinent," 
Roy  blazed.  "  He  holds  himself  too  high." 

"  Well,  I'll  not  say  he  does  not,"  Dan'l  agreed.  "  Same 
time,  it  never  hurts  to  wait."  And  he  added,  a  little  un- 
comfortably, as  though  he  were  unwilling  to  make  the 
suggestion :  "  Besides,  your  sister  shipped  the  man. 
She'd  have  the  say,  in  any  trouble." 

"  I  guess  not,"  Roy  stoutly  boasted.  "  I  guess  she's 
nothing  but  a  woman.  I  guess  Noll  Wing  is  the  boss 
around  here." 

"  Sure,"  said  Dan'l.     "  Sure.     But  —  let's  wait  a  bit." 

This  pleased  Roy ;  it  had  a  mysteriously  ominous  sound. 
He  waited ;  and  he  fell  into  the  way  of  watching  Brander, 
spying  on  the  man,  keeping  the  newcomer  constantly  under 
his  eye.  Brander  marked  this  at  once,  smiled  good-humor- 
edly.  .  .  . 

Brander  and  Faith  saw  very  little  of  each  other  in 
those  days ;  they  exchanged  no  words  whatever,  save  on 
one  day  when  Brander  had  the  wheel  and  Faith  nodded  to 
him  and  bade  him  good  morning.  For  the  rest,  the  con- 
vention of  the  deck  kept  Brander  forward  of  the  try- 
works;  and  Faith  never  went  forward.  But  now  and 


96  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

then  their  eyes  met,  across  the  length  of  the  Sally;  and  one 
night  at  the  cutting  in,  she  heard  Brander  singing  a 
chanty  to  inspire  the  men  as  they  tugged  at  the  capstan 
bars.  .  .  .  He  sang  well,  a  clear  voice  and  a  true  one.  In 
the  shadows  of  the  after  deck,  she  listened  thoughtfully. 

Dan'l  came  upon  her  there,  when  he  paused  for  a  mo- 
ment in  his  work.  He  saw  her  before  she  saw  him,  saw 
her  face  illumined  by  the  light  of  the  flare  in  the  rigging 
above  the  tryworks.  And  for  a  moment  he  stood,  watch- 
ing ;  and  the  man's  lip  twisted.  .  .  . 

That  moment  was  a  turning  point  in  Dan'l  Tobey's  life. 
Before,  there  had  been  a  measure  of  good  in  the  man ;  he 
had  loved  Faith  well  and  decently.  .  .  .  His  capacity  for 
mischief  had  been  curbed.  But  in  those  seconds  while  he 
studied  Faith's  countenance  as  she  listened  to  Brander's 
singing,  he  saw  something  that  curdled  the  venom  in  the 
man.  When  he  stepped  nearer,  and  she  heard  him,  he  was 
a  different  Dan'l.  .  .  .  The  stocky,  round-faced,  freckled, 
sandy  young  man  had  become  a  power  for  evil.  .  .  .  He 
was  to  use  this  power  thenceforward  without  scruple.  .  .  . 

Faith  smiled  at  him ;  he  said  pleasantly :  "  The  man 
sings  well." 

"  Yes,"  Faith  agreed.     "  I  like  it." 

Then  Dan'l  turned  back  to  his  tasks,  and  Faith  slipped 
down  into  the  cabin  where  Noll  was,  and  offered  to  read 
aloud  to  her  husband.  Noll  sleepily  agreed;  he  went  to 
sleep,  presently,  while  she  read.  When  she  saw  he  was 
asleep,  she  dropped  her  book  in  her  lap  and  studied  the 
sleeping  man;  and  suddenly  her  eyes  filled,  so  that  she 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  97 

went  down  on  her  knees  beside  him,  and  laid  her  arms 
gently  about  his  shoulders,  and  whispered  pleadingly: 
"  Oh,  Noll,  Noll.  .  .  ." 

Roy  Kilcup,  coming  up  from  the  cabin  one  day,  saw 
Dan'l  Tobey  strike  a  man.  He  saw  this  at  the  moment 
his  head  rose  above  the  companion.  Dan'l  and  the  man 
were  amidships,  and  Dan'l  cuffed  him  and  drove  him  for- 
ward. 

Dan'l  was  not  given  to  blows ;  he  seldom  needed  to  use 
them.  So  Roy  was  curious.  He  went  forward  along  the 
deck,  and  touched  Dan'l's  elbow,  and  pointed  after  the 
cuffed  man  and  asked  huskily: 

"  What's  the  matter  ?     What  did  he  do  ?  " 
Dan'l  had  not  seen  Roy  coming.     He  took  a  moment  to 
think  before  he  answered ;  then  he  said  in  a  fashion  that 
indicated  his  unwillingness  to  tell  the  truth: 

"  Oh  —  nothing.  He  was  spitting  on  the  deck." 
Now  a  whaler  is,  when  she  is  doing  her  work,  a  dirty 
craft ;  she  is  never  overly  clean  at  best.  But  it  is  never 
permitted,  on  a  ship  that  pretends  to  decency,  to  spit  upon 
the  deck.  Any  man  who  did  that  on  the  Sally  would  have 
been  punished  with  the  utmost  rigor;  and  Roy  knew  this 
as  well  as  Dan'l.  And  Dan'l  knew  that  Roy  knew.  Roy 
grinned  youthfully,  protested : 

"  Oh,  say,  what's  the  secret  about?     What  did  he  do?  " 
Dan'l  smiled  in  a  way  that  admitted  his  misstatement; 
he  shook  his  head.     "  Nothing,"  h§  said. 

Roy  looked  angry.     "  Keep  it  to  yourself  if  you  want 


98  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

to."  He  had  known  Dan'l  all  his  life,  and  had  no  awe  of 
him.  "  Don't  tell  if  you  don't  want  to.  If  it's  a  secret, 
I  guess  I  can  keep  still  about  it  as  well  as  any  one." 

Dan'l  looked  sorrowful.  "Just  forget  it,  Roy,"  he 
said.  "  It  doesn't  matter." 

Roy  flamed  at  him.  "  All  right,  .  .  .  Keep  it  to  your- 
self." 

And  Dan'l  yielded  reluctantly.  "  Well,  if  you've  got 
to  know,"  he  said,  "  I'll  tell  you.  ...  He  was  laughing 
at  Brander's  story  of  why  Faith  brought  him  aboard  the 
ship  here." 

Roy's  cheeks  began  to  burn.  "  Brander.  .  .  .  What 
did  Brander  say?  " 

Dan'l  shook  his  head.  "  I  don't  know.  I  didn't  hear. 
He  wasn't  here  at  the  time.  Probably  didn't  say  any- 
thing. Probably  the  men  just  made  it  up.  The  fo'c's'le 
is  a  dirty  place,  you  know,  Roy.  Dirty  men.  .  .  .  And 
dirty  talk.  .  .  ." 

Roy  said  hotly :  "  By  God,  I  won't  have  them  talking 
about  my  sister.  .  .  ." 

"  I  felt  the  same  way,"  Dan'l  agreed.  "  But  —  you 
can't  do  anything." 

"What  did  Brander  say?     The  sneak.  .  .  ." 

"  I  don't  know  that  he  said  anything,"  Dan'l  insisted. 

Probably  not.  I  just  heard  this  man  snickering,  and 
telling  two  others  something.  .  .  .  Heard  him  name  Bran- 
der, and  your  sister.  ...  So  I  struck  in.  The  others 
were  just  listening.  They  got  out  of  the  way.  I  asked 
this  man  what  he  said ;  and  he  wouldn't  tell  me,  so  I  hit 
him  a  clip  and  told  him  to  keep  his  tongue  still.  .  .  ." 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  99 

Roy  whirled  to  look  forward.  The  deck  was  all  but 
empty,  but  Brander  and  another  man  were  by  the  knight's 
heads,  talking  casually  together.  Roy  said  under  his 
breath :  "  I'm  going  to.  .  .  ." 

Dan'l  caught  his  arm.     "  Wait.  .  .  ." 

Roy  shook  loose.  "  No.  This  is  my  family  affair, 
Dan'l.  Let  me  alone.  .  .  ."  He  started  forward.  Dan'l 
hesitated ;  then  he  drew  back,  turned  aft,  stopped,  watched. 
.  .  .  He  took  a  malicious  pleasure  in  seeing  what  would 
happen. 

Brander  had  seen  Roy  coming;  he  was  watching  the 
boy,  and  smiling  a  little.  The  other  man's  back  was 
turned.  Roy  strode  forward,  head  up,  eyes  blazing;  he 
kept  on  till  he  was  face  to  face  with  Brander;  he  stopped, 
and  his  hands  trembled. 

"  You,  Brander,"  he  said  thickly.  "  You  keep  your 
tongue  off  my.  .  .  ." 

Brander  moved  like  a  flash  of  light.  He  swung  Roy  to 
him,  swung  the  boy  around,  pinned  his  arms  with  one  of 
his  own,  clapped  his  hand  over  Roy's  mouth.  .  .  .  He 
lifted  the  boy  easily  and  carried  him,  thus  pinned  and 
gagged,  aft  as  far  as  the  tryworks.  The  other  man  stared 
in  astonishment ;  Dan'l  took  a  step  nearer  the  two.  The 
others  were  out  of  easy  hearing  when  Brander  stopped. 
Still  holding  Roy's  mouth  he  said  quietly : 

"  Don't  lose  your  head,  youngster.  You'll  only  do 
harm.  Speak  quietly.  What  do  you  want  to  say?  " 

He  released  Roy  and  stepped  back ;  and  again  Roy 
showed  that  he  was  more  than  a  boy.  He  did  not  spring 
at  Brander ;  he  did  not  curse ;  he  did  not  weep.  He  stood, 


100  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

straight  as  a  wire,  and  his  eyes  were  blazing.  His  voice, 
when  he  found  it,  was  husky  and  low,  so  that  none  but 
Branded  could  hear. 

"I  don't  know  what  you're  saying  about  my  sister," 
said  Roy.  "Whatever  it  is,  it's  not  true.  If  you  say 
it  again,  I'll  kill  you." 

Brander's  eyes  shadowed  unhappily.  He  asked: 
"Why  do  you  think  I  have  said  anything?  " 

"  No  matter,"  said  Roy  harshly.  "  I  know.  Keep 
your  tongue  between  your  lips,  or  I'll  shoot  you  like  a 
yellow  dog.  That's  all.  .  .  ." 

He  swung  abruptly,  and  went  aft  so  quickly  that  Bran- 
der  made  no  move  to  stop  him.  Dan'l  came  quietly  across 
the  waist  of  the  ship  as  Brander  took  a  step  after  Roy. 
"  Get  forward,  Brander,"  he  said. 

Brander  nodded  pleasantly ;  he  said :     "  Yes,  sir." 
And  he  went  back  to  the  forward  deck,  his  eyes  troubled. 
He  fought,  that  afternoon,  with  one  of  the  hands,  and 
whipped  the  man  soundly.     Dan'l  Tobey  reported  this  in 
the  cabin  that  evening ;  and  Mr.  Ham  frowned  and  said : 

"  He'd  best  learn  we'll  do  all  the  fist  work  that's  done 
aboard  here." 

Dan'l  smiled.  "  He  was  an  officer  once,"  he  reminded 
the  mate.  "  It's  a  habit  hard  to  break." 

Big  Noll  was  there ;  he  seemed  not  to  listen.  His  atti- 
tude toward  the  new  man  was  still  in  doubt.  Dan'l  Tobey 
was  wondering  about  it ;  and  so  was  Faith.  It  was  to  be 
decided,  two  days  later,  in  a  fashion  peculiarly  dramatic. 
Mauger,  the  one-eyed  man,  had  an  increasing  hold  on 
the  imagination  of  Noll  Wing.  The  captain  encountered 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  101 

the  other  wherever  he  went ;  and  he  never  encountered 
Mauger  without  an  uneasy  feeling  that  was  half  dread, 
half  remorse.  He  could  not  bear  to  look  at  Mauger's 
face,  with  the  dreadful  hollow  covered  by  the  twitching 
lid;  and  Mauger  sensed  this  and  put  himself  in  the  cap- 
tain's path  whenever  he  had  the  opportunity.  Noll  wished 
he  could  be  rid  of  the  one-eyed  man;  and  in  his  moments 
of  rage,  he  thought  murderously  of  Mauger.  But  for 
the  most  part,  he  feared  and  dreaded  the  other,  and  shiv~ 
ered  at  the  little  man's  malicious  and  incessant  chuckling. 

Again  and  again  he  spoke  to  Faith  of  Mauger,  voicing 
his  fear,  wishing  that  she  might  reassure  him ;  till  Faith 
wearied  of  it,  and  would  say  no  more.  He  spoke  of  his 
dread  to  Mr.  Ham,  who  thought  he  was  joking  and 
laughed  at  him  harshly.  Mr.  Ham  lacked  imagination. 

Brander,  as  has  been  said,  was  friendly  with  Mauger. 
He  was  sorry  for  the  little  man ;  and  he  found  in  Mauger 
a  singularly  persistent  spirit  of  cheer  which  he  liked.  He 
was,  for  that  matter,  a  friend  of  all  the  men  in  the  fo'c's'le, 
but  because  Mauger  was  marked  by  the  cabin,  his  friend- 
ship for  Mauger  was  more  frequently  noted.  Dan'l  had 
seen  it,  had  pointed  it  out  to  Willis  Cox.  .  .  . 

Cap'n  Wing  came  on  deck  one  afternoon,  a  few  minutes 
before  the  masthead  man  sighted  a  pod  of  whales  to  the 
southward.  The  captain  was  more  cheerful  than  he  had 
been  for  days ;  he  was  filled  with  something  like  the  vigor 
of  his  more  youthful  days.  There  was  a  joyful  turbu- 
lence in  him,  like  the  exuberance  of  an  athlete.  .  .  .  He 
stamped  the  deck,  striding  back  and  forth.  .  .  . 

When  the  whales  were  sighted,  the  men  sprang  to  the 


102  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

boats.  Mauger,  since  Willis  Cox's  tragic  experience,  had 
been  put  in  the  fourth  mate's  boat  with  Brander,  to  fill 
the  empty  places  there.  Brander  and  Mauger  were  side 
by  side  in  their  positions  as  they  prepared  the  boat  for 
lowering.  But  the  whales  were  still  well  away,  the  Sally 
could  cruise  nearer  them,  and  Noll  Wing  did  not  at  once 
give  the  signal  to  lower.  He  stalked  along  the  deck.  .  .  . 

As  he  passed  where  Mauger  stood,  he  marked  that  the 
line  in  the  after  tub  was  out  of  coil  a  little.  That  might 
mean  danger,  when  the  whale  was  struck  and  the  line 
whistled  like  a  snake  as  it  ran.  Noll  Wing  stopped  and 
swore  sulphurously  and  bade  Mr.  Cox  put  his  boat  in 
order.  Willis  snapped :  "  Mauger,  stow  that  line." 

Mauger  reached  for  the  tub,  but  his  single  eye  had  not 
yet  learned  accurately  to  judge  distance;  he  fumbled;  and 
Brander,  at  his  side,  saw  his  fumbling,  and  reached  out 
and  coiled  the  line  with  a  single  motion.  .  .  . 

Noll  Wing  saw ;  and  he  barked : 

"  Brander ! " 

Brander  looked  around.     "  Yes,  sir." 

"  When  a  man  can't  do  his  own  work  here,  we  don't 
want  him.  Keep  your  hands  off  Mauger's  tasks." 

Brander  said  respectfully :  "  I  helped  him  without 
thinking,  sir.  Thought  the  thing  was  to  do  the  work,  no 
matter  who.  .  .  ." 

Noll  Wing  stepped  toward  him ;  and  his  eyes  were  blaz- 
ing, not  so  much  with  anger  as  with  sheer  exuberance  of 
strength.  He  roared:  "Don't  talk  back  to  me, 
you.  .  .  ." 

And  struck. 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  103 

Now  Noll  Wing  was  proud  of  his  fists,  and  proud  of 
his  eye;  and  for  fifteen  years  he  had  not  failed  to  down 
his  man  with  a  single  blow.  But  when  he  struck  at  Bran- 
der,  a  curious  thing  happened.  .  .  . 

Brander's  head  moved  a  little  to  one  side,  his  shoulders 
shifted.  .  .  .  And  Noll's  big  fist  shot  over  Brander's  right 
shoulder.  The  captain's  weight  threw  him  forward ;  Bran- 
der  stepped  under  Noll's  arm.  The  two  men  met,  face 
to  face,  their  eyes  not  six  inches  apart.  Noll's  were 
blazing  ferociously;  but  in  Brander's  a  blue  light  flick- 
ered and  played.  .  .  . 

The  men  waited,  not  breathing;  the  officers  stepped  a 
little  nearer.  Dan'l  Tobey  licked  his  lips.  This  would 
be  the  end  of  Brander.  ...  It  was  not  etiquette  to  dodge 
the  Old  Man's  blows.  .  .  . 

But,  amazingly,  after  seconds  of  silence,  Noll  Wing's 
grim  face  relaxed ;  he  chuckled.  .  .  .  He  laughed  aloud, 
and  clapped  Brander  on  the  shoulder.  "  Good  man.  .  .  . 
Good  man !  " 

Mr.  Ham  called:     "We'll  gaily  the  sparm.  .  .  ." 

And  Noll  turned,  and  waved  his  hand.  "  Right,"  he 
said.  "  Lower  away,  boats.  .  .  ." 

The  lean  craft  struck  the  water,  the  men  dropped  in, 
the  chase  was  on. 


XI 

WHEN  the  boats  left  the  Sally,  Mr.  Ham's  in 
the  lead  as  of  right,  Faith  came  from  the 
after  deck  to  where  Noll  stood  by  the  rail 
and  touched  his  arm.     He  turned   and   looked   down   at 
her.  .  .  .  He  was  already  regretting  what  had  happened. 
His  recognition  of  Brander's  courage  had  been  the  last 
flame  of  nobility  from  the  man's  soul ;  he  was  to  go  down, 
thereafter,  into  lower  and  lower  depths.  .  .  .  He  was  al- 
ready regretful  and  ashamed.  .  .  . 

Faith  touched  his  arm;  he  looked  down  and  saw  pride 
and  happiness  in  her  eyes ;  and  with  the  curious  lack  of 
logic  of  the  male,  he  was  the  more  ashamed  of  what  he  had 
done  because  she  was  proud  of  him  for  it.  She  said  softly : 

"  That  was  fine,  Noll." 

"  Fine  —  hell !  "  he  said  hoarsely.  "  I  ought  to  have 
smashed  him." 

Faith  smiled ;  she  shook  her  head.  .  .  .  Her  hand  rested 
on  his  arm :  and  as  he  turned  to  look  after  the  departing 
boats,  she  leaned  a  little  against  him.  He  mumbled: 
"Fool.  .  .  .  That's  what  I  was.  I  ought  to  have 
smashed  him.  Now  he  —  every  man  aboard  —  they'll 
think  they  can  pull  it  on  me.  .  .  ."  His  big  fists  clenched. 
"  By  God,  I'll  show  'em.  I'll  string  him  up  for  a  lick- 
ing, time  he  gets  back." 

104 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  105 

"  I  was  —  very  proud,"  she  said.  "  If  you  had  struck 
him,  I  should  have  been  ashamed." 

"That's  the  woman  of  it,"  he  jeered.  "Damn  it, 
Faith ;  you  can't  run  a  whaler  with  kisses.  .  .  ." 

She  studied  his  countenance.  He  was  flushed,  nervous, 
his  lips  moving.  .  .  .  He  took  off  his  cap  to  wipe  his  fore- 
head; and  his  bald  head  and  his  gray  hair  and  the  slack 
muscles  of  his  cheeks  reminded  her  again  that  he  was  an 
old,  an  aging  man.  .  .  .  She  felt  infinitely  sorry  for  him ; 
she  patted  his  arm  comfortingly. 

He  shook  her  off.  "  Yes,  by  God,"  he  swore.  "  When 
he  gets  back,  I'll  tie  him  up  and  give  him  the  rope.  .  .  . 
Show  the  dog.  .  .  ." 

Roy  had  come  up  behind  them ;  neither  had  heard  him. 
The  boy  cried :  "  That's  right,  sir.  The  man  thinks 
he's  running  the  Sally,  sir.  You've  got  to  handle  him." 

Faith  said :     "  Roy,  be  still." 

He  flamed  at  her:  "  You  don't  know  what  you're  talk- 
ing about,  Sis.  You're  just  a  girl." 

Noll  said  impatiently :  "  Don't  have  one  of  your  rows, 
now.  I'm  sick  of  'em.  Roy,  go  down  in  the  cabin  and 
stay  there.  .  .  ." 

"  I  can't  see  the  boats  from  there,"  the  boy  complained. 
Noll  turned  on  him ;  and  Roy  backed  away  and  disap- 
peared. Noll  watched  the  boats,  dwindling  into  specks 
across  the  sea.  .  .  .  Beyond  he  could  see,  now  and  then, 
the  white  spouts  of  the  whales.  Once  a  great  fluke  was 
lazily  upreared.  .  .  .  Faith  watched  beside  him. 

Whether,  in  the  normal  course  of  things,  Noll  would 


106  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

have  carried  out  his  threat  to  whip  Brander  cannot  be 
known.  Chance,  the  dark  chance  of  the  whale-fisheries, 
intervened. 

Tragedy  always  hangs  above  a  whaling  vessel.  This 
must  be  so  when  six  men  in  a  puny  boat  with  slivers  of 
iron  and  steel  go  out  to  slay  a  creature  with  the  strength 
of  six  hundred  men.  When  matters  go  well,  they  strike 
their  whale,  the  harpoon  makes  him  fast,  he  runs  out  his 
strength,  they  haul  alongside  and  prod  him  with  the  lance, 
he  dies.  .  .  .  But  there  are  so  many  ways  in  which  mat- 
ters may  go  wrong.  The  sea  is  herself  a  treacherous 
hussy,  when  she  consorts  with  the  wind,  and  becomes  drunk 
with  his  caresses.  Under  his  touch  she  swells  and  breaks 
tempestuously;  she  writhes  and  flings  herself  about.  .  .  . 
Her  least  wave  can,  if  it  chooses,  smash  the  thin  sides 
of  a  whaleboat  and  rob  the  men  in  it  of  their  strength  and 
shelter ;  her  gentlest  tussle  with  her  consort  wind  can  over- 
whelm them.  .  .  . 

And  if  the  sea  be  merciful,  there  remain  her  creatures. 
She  is  the  wide,  blue  pasture -of  the  whale;  a  touch  of  his 
flukes,  a  crunch  of  his  jaw,  a  roll  of  his  great  bulk  is 
enough  to  crush  out  the  lives  of  a  score  of  men.  If  he  had 
wit  to  match  his  size,  he  would  be  invulnerable;  as  it  is, 
men  with  their  wits  for  weapons  can  strike  and  kill  him 
in  the  waters  that  are  his  own.  It  is  rare  to  encounter  a 
fighting  whale,  a  creature  that  deliberately  sets  itself  to 
destroy  the  attacking  boats;  the  tragedies  of  the  whale- 
fisheries  are  more  often  mere  incidents,  slight  mischances, 
matters  of  small  importance  to  the  whale.  .  .  . 

A  little,  little  thing  and  men  die. 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  107 

This  day,  the  day  when  Brander  faced  Noll  Wing  and 
went  unscathed,  was  bright  and  fair,  with  a  gentle  turbu- 
lent wind,  and  a  dancing  sea.  It  was  warm  upon  the  wa- 
ters ;  the  sun  burned  down  upon  them  and  its  glare  and 
its  heat  were  reflected  from  them.  .  .  .  The  skin  of  men's 
faces  was  scorched  by  it.  The  men,  tugging  at  the  oars 
in  the  boats,  sweated  and  strove ;  the  perspiration  streamed 
down  their  cheeks,  trickled  along  the  straining  cords  of 
their  necks,  slid  down  their  broad  chests.  .  .  .  Their 
shirts  clung  to  them  wetly ;  they  welcomed  the  flying  spray 
that  lashed  them  now  and  then. 

The  pod  of  whales  was  perhaps  five  miles  from  the  Sally 
when  the  boats  were  lowered;  but  the  wind  was  favor- 
ing, and  its  pressure  upon  the  sail  helped  them  on  for  a 
space.  When  half  the  distance  was  covered,  the  oars 
were  discarded  as  the  boats  swung  around  with  the  wind 
almost  dead  astern,  and  headed  straight  for  the  whales' 
lay.  Before  they  reached  the  basking,  sporting  crea- 
tures, the  whales  sounded;  and  it  was  necessary  for  the 
men  to  lie  upon  their  oars  and  wait  for  a  full  half  hour 
before  the  first  spout  showed  the  cachalots  were  back 
from  their  browsing  in  the  ocean  caves  below.  The  boats 
swung  around  and  headed  toward  them,  sails  pulling.  .  .  . 

Mr.  Ham's  boat  was  in  the  lead;  for  that  is  the  right 
of  the  mate.  The  others  were  closely  bunched  behind 
him ;  and  as  they  drew  near  the  pod,  they  separated  some- 
what, so  that  each  might  strike  a  whale.  Dan'l  Tobey 
went  southward,  where  a  lone  bull  lay  with  the  waves 
breaking  over  his  black  bulk.  Willis  Cox  and  Tichel 
swung  to  the  north  of  the  mate,  into  the  thick  of  the  pod. 


108  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

The  mate  marked  down  his  whale ;  a  fat  cow  that  would 
yield  full  seventy  barrels.  He  was  steering;  Silva,  the 
harpooner,  stood  in  the  bow,  knee  braced,  ready  with  his 
irons.  The  men  amidships  prepared  to  bring  down  mast 
and  sail  at  the  word,  and  stow  them  safely  away  so  that 
they  might  not  hinder  the  battle  that  would  come.  The 
boat  drove  smoothly  on.  .  .  .  Mr.  Ham,  looking  north 
and  south,  saw  that  the  others  were  drawing  up  abreast 
of  him,  so  that  they  would  strike  the  whales  at  about  the 
same  time.  He  thought  comfortably  that  with  a  little 
luck  they  would  kill  two  whales,  or  perhaps  three.  That 
each  boat  should  kill  was  too  much  to  be  hoped  for. 

Then  he  gave  his  attention  to  his  own  prey.  They 
slipped  up  on  the  basking  cow  from  almost  dead  astern, 
slid  alongside  her ;  and  Mr.  Ham  swung  hard  on  the  steer- 
ing oar.  The  boat  came  into  the  wind;  he  bellowed: 

"  Now,  Silva ;  give  her  iron." 

The  harpooner  moved  quick  as  light,  for  all  the  power 
of  the  thrust  he  put  behind  his  stroke.  He  sank  his  first 
iron;  snatched  his  second,  drove  it  home  as  the  whale 
stirred.  .  .  .  Threw  overboard  the  loose  line  coiled  for- 
ward. .  .  .  The  whale  ran. 

The  sail  came  fluttering  down,  mast  and  all;  and  the 
four  men  amidships  rolled  it  awkwardly,  stowed  it  along 
the  gunwale.  .  .  .  Silva  and  the  mate,  at  the  same  time, 
were  changing  places  in  the  boat.  Silva,  the  harpooning 
done,  would  now  come  into  his  proper  function  as  boat- 
steerer.  It  is  the  task  of  the  mates  to  kill  the  whales. 
The  boat,  half  smothered  in  canvas,  with  Silva  and  Mr. 
Ham  passing  from  end  to  end,  and  the  whale  line  already 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  109 

running  out  through  the  chock  in  the  bow,  was  a  picture 
of  confusion  thrice  confounded. 

In  this  confusion,  anything  was  possible ;  anything 
might  happen.  What  did  happen  was  humiliating  and 
ridiculous. 

When  Silva  struck  home  the  harpoons,  he  flung  over- 
board a  length  of  line  coiled  by  his  knee.  This  slack 
line  would  allow  the  whale  to  run  free  while  the  sail  was 
coming  down  and  he  and  the  mate  were  changing  places. 
He  threw  it  overboard  —  and  failed  to  mark  that  one 
loop  of  it  caught  on  the  point  of  one  of  the  spare  irons 
in  the  rack  with  the  lances,  at  the  bow.  He  leaped  for  the 
stern,  groped  past  Mr.  Ham  amidships.  .  .  . 

The  whale  was  running.  As  Mr.  Ham  reached  the  bow, 
the  line  drew  taut.  That  loop  which  had  caught  across 
the  point  of  the  harpoon  was  straightened  like  a  flash. 

Now  a  harpoon  is  shaped,  not  like  an  arrow,  but  like  a 
slanting  blade.  It  has  a  single  barb ;  and  the  forward 
side  of  this  barb  is  razor-sharp.  This  razor  edge  cuts  into 
the  blubber  and  flesh;  then  the  shank  of  the  barb  grips 
and  holds.  But  the  edge  that  will  cut  blubber  will  also 
cut  hemp.  .  .  . 

The  loop  of  whale  line  was  dragged  firmly  back  along 
this  three-inch  blade;  it  cut  through  as  though  a  knife 
had  done  the  trick,  and  the  whale  was  gone  with  two  irons 
and  thirty  fathoms  of  line.  Mr.  Ham  and  his  boat  bobbed 
placidly  upon  the  water ;  and  Mr.  Ham  looked,  saw  what 
had  happened,  and  spoke  sulphurously.  Then  looked 
about  to  see  what  might  be  done. 

It  was  too  late  to  think  of  getting  fast  to  another  whale. 


110  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

The  pod  was  gallied;  the  great  creatures  were  fleeing. 
After  them  went  James  Tichel  in  his  boat,  the  spray 
sluicing  up  from  her  bows.  Tichel  was  fast;  the  whale 
was  running  with  him.  .  .  .  Mr.  Ham  looked  from  Tichel 
for  the  other  boats.  He  saw  Dan'l  Tobey  in  distress.  A 
whale  had  risen  gently  under  them,  opening  the  seams  of 
their  craft ;  and  they  were  half  full  of  water  and  sinking. 
They  had  cut. 

Willis  Cox  had  hold  of  a  whale;  and  this  one  had 
sounded.  Mr.  Ham  saw  Willis  in  the  bow,  watching  the 
line  that  went  straight  down  from  the  chock  into  the 
water.  This  line  was  running  out  like  a  whip-lash,  though 
Willis  put  on  it  all  the  strain  it  would  bear  without  drag- 
ging the  boat's  bow  under.  It  ran  down  and  down.  .  .  . 

Mr.  Ham  rowed  across ;  and  Willis  called  to  him : 
"  Big  fellow.  But  he's  taken  one  tub." 

"  Give  him  to  me,"  Mr.  Ham  said. 

Willis  shook  his  head.  "  I'd  like  to  handle  him.  Get 
me  the  line  from  Mr.  Tobey's  boat.  He's  mine." 

Mr.  Ham  grinned.  "All  right;  if  you're  minded  to 
work.  .  .  ."  He  swung  quickly  to  where  Dan'l  and  his 
men  floated  to  their  waists  in  water,  the  boat  under  them. 
"  Takin'  a  swim?  "  he  asked,  grinning. 

Dan'l  nodded.  "Just  that.  You  cut,  I  see.  Why 
was  that,  now?  " 

Mr.  Ham  stopped  grinning  and  looked  angry.  "  Pass 
over  your  tubs,"  he  ordered;  and  DanTs  men  obeyed. 
Mr.  Ham  took  the  fresh  line  to  Willis.  .  .  . 

He   was   no   more   than  just   in    time.     "The   black 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  111 

devil's  still  going,"  Willis  said.  "  Second  tub's  all  but 
gone.  .  .  ." 

"  Bound  for  hell,  more'n  like,"  Mr.  Ham  agreed. 
"  Hold  him." 

Dan'l's  line  was  running  out  by  this  time ;  for  Willis 
had  worked  quickly.  .  .  .  And  still  the  whale  went  down. 
.  .  .  Mr.  Ham  stood  by,  waiting.  .  .  .  The  line  ran  out 
steadily;  the  whale  showed  no  signs  of  rising.  The  bow 
of  Willis's  boat  was  held  down  within  inches  of  the  water 
by  the  strain  he  kept  upon  the  line.  One  tub  was  emptied ; 
he  began  to  look  anxious.  .  .  .  And  the  whale  kept  going 
down. 

Mr.  Ham  said  abruptly :  "  There.  .  .  .  Pass  over 
your  line.  He'll  be  gone  on  you,  first  you  know." 

Willis  looked  at  the  smoking  line.  .  .  .  And  reluctantly, 
he  surrendered.  With  no  more  than  seconds  to  spare, 
the  end  of  his  line  was  made  fast  to  the  cut  end  of  Mr. 
Ham's,  and  the  whale  continued  to  go  down.  He  had 
taken  all  the  line  of  two  boats  —  and  wanted  more. 

"  He's  hungry,"  Mr.  Ham  grinned,  watching  the  run- 
ning rope.  "  Gone  down  for  supper,  likely." 

And  a  moment  later,  his  eyes  lighting: 

"  There.  .  .  .  Getting  tired.  ...  Or  struck  bottom, 
»aybe." 

They  could  all  see  that  the  line  had  slackened.  The 
bow  of  Mr.  Ham's  boat  rode  at  a  normal  level;  the  line 
hung  loose.  And  the  mate  turned  around  and  bellowed 
to  his  men: 

"  Haul  in." 


112  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

They  began  to  take  in  the  line,  hand  over  hand ;  it  fell 
in  a  wide  coil  amidships,  overlapping  the  sides,  spreading. 
...  A  coil  that  grew  and  grew.  They  worked  like  mad. 
.  .  .  The  only  way  to  kill  a  whale  is  to  pull  up  on  him 
until  your  boat  rides  against  his  very  flank.  All  the  line 
this  creature  had  stolen  must  be  recovered,  before  he 
could  be  slain.  .  .  .  They  toiled  with  racing  hands.  .  .  . 

Mr.  Ham  began  to  look  anxiously  over  the  bow,  down 
into  the  blue  water  from  which  the  line  came  up.  "  He's 
near  due,"  he  said. 

It  is  one  of  the  curious  and  fatal  habits  of  a  sounding 
whale  to  rise  near  the  spot  where  he  went  down.  It  is  as 
though  the  creatures  followed  a  well-known  path  into  the 
depths  and  up  again.  This  is  not  always  true;  often  a 
whale  that  has  sounded  will  take  it  into  his  mind  to  run, 
will  set  off  at  a  double-pace.  But  in  most  cases,  the 
whale  comes  up  near  where  he  disappeared.  .  .  .  The  men 
knew  this.  Dan'l  Tobey,  in  his  sinking  boat,  worked 
away  from  the  neighborhood  to  give  the  mate  room.  So 
did  Willis.  And  Mr.  Ham,  leaning  one  knee  on  the  bow, 
peering  down  into  the  water,  his  lance  ready  in  his  hand, 
waited  for  the  whale  to  rise.  .  .  . 

The  line  came  in.  ...  The  nerves  of  each  man  taut- 
ened. .  .  .  Mr.  Ham  said,  over  his  shoulder :  "  Silva, 
you  coil  t'line.  Rest  of  you  get  in  your  oars.  Hold 
ready.  .  .  ." 

He  heard  the  men  obey,  knew  they  were  ready  to 
maneuver  at  his  command.  .  .  .  The  whale  was  coming 
up  slowly ;  the  line  was  still  slack,  but  the  creature  should 
have  breached  long  before.  .  .  . 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  113 

The  mate  thought  .he  detected  a  light  pull  on  the  line; 
it  seemed  to  draw  backward,  underneath  the  boat;  and 
he  said  softly: 

"  Pull  her  around." 

The  oars  dipped ;  the  boat  swung  slowly  on  a  pivot. 
.  .  .  The  line  now  ran  straight  down.  .  .  . 

Abruptly,  Mr.  Ham,  bending  above  the  water,  thought 
he  saw  a  black  bulk  far  down  and  down.  ...  A  bulk 
that  seemed  to  rise.  .  .  .  He  watched.  .  .  . 

It  was  ahead  of  the  boat;  it  became  more  plainly  vis- 
ible. .  .  .  He  waved  his  hand,  pointing :  "  There  .  .  ." 
he  said.  "There.  .  .  ." 

Deep  in  the  water,  that  black  bulk  swiftly  moved;  it 
darted  to  one  side,  circling,  rising.  .  .  .  Mr.  Ham  saw  a 
flash  of  white,  a  huge  black  head,  a  sword-like,  saw- 
toothed  jaw.  .  .  .  The  big  man  towered;  he  flung  his  left 
hand  up  and  back  in  a  tremendous  gesture. 

"  Starn.  ...  Oh,  starn  all ! "  he  cried. 

The  oars  bent  like  bows  under  the  fierce  thrust  of  the 
men  as  they  backed  water.  .  .  .  The  boat  slid  back.  .  .  . 
But  not  in  time.  .  .  . 

Willis  Cox,  and  the  men  in  his  boat,  saw  the  long,  nar- 
row under  jaw  of  the  cachalot —  a  dozen  feet  long,  with 
the  curving  teeth  of  a  tiger  set  along  it  —  slide  up  from 
the  water,  above  the  bow  of  the  boat.  The  bow  lifted  as 
the  whale's  upper  jaw,  toothless,  rose  under  it.  ...  The 
creature  was  on  its  back,  biting.  .  .  .  The  boat  rolled 
sidewise,  the  men  were  tumbling  out.  .  .  . 

But  that  narrow  jaw  sheared  down  resistlessly. 
Through  the  stout  sides  of  the  boat,  crumpling  and  splin- 


THE  SEA  BRIDE 

tering  ribs  and  planking.  .  .  .  Through  the  boat.  .  .  . 
And  clamped  shut  as  the  jaws  closed  across  the  thick 
body  of  the  mete.  .  .  .  They  saw  the  mate's  body  swell 
as  a  toy  balloon  swells  under  a  child's  foot.  .  .  .  Then 
horribly  it  relaxed  and  fell  away  and  was  lost  in  a  smother 
of  bloody  foam.  .  .  . 

Loum,  Willis's  boat-steerer,  swung  them  alongside  the 
rolling  whale.  It  was  Brander  who  caught  a  loop  of  the 
loose  line;  and  while  the  creature  lay  quietly,  apparently 
content  with  what  it  had  done,  they  hauled  close,  and 
Willis  —  the  boy's  face  was  white,  but  his  hand  was 
steady  —  drove  home  his  lance,  and  drew  it  forth,  and 
plunged  it  in,  again  and  yet  again.  .  .  . 

The  whale  seemed  to  have  exhausted  its  strength.  Hay- 
ing killed,  it  died  easily  enough.  Spout  crimsoned,  fluke* 
beat  in  a  last  flurry,  then  the  great  black  bulk  was  still.  .  .  . 

They  picked  up  the  men  who  had  been  spilled  from  the 
mate's  boat.  Not  a  man  hurt,  of  them  all,  save  only  Mr. 
Ham. 

Him  they  never  found ;  no  part  of  him.  The  sea  took 
him.  No  doubt,  Faith  thought  that  night,  he  would  hare 
wished  his  rough  life  thus  to  end. 


XII 

MR.  HAM  was  dead  and  gone.  Faith  was  sur- 
prised to  find,  in  the  next  few  days,  how  much 
she  missed  him.  The  mate  had  been  harsh, 
brutal  to  the  men,  ready  with  his  fist.  .  .  .  Yet  somehow 
she  found  in  her  heart  a  deep  affection  for  the  man.  He 
was  so  amiably  stupid,  so  stupidly  good  of  heart.  His 
philosophy  of  life  had  been  the  philosophy  of  blows ;  he 
believed  men,  like  children,  were  best  ruled  for  their  own 
good  by  the  heavy  hand  of  a  master.  And  he  acted  on 
that  belief,  with  the  best  will  in  the  world.  But  there 
had  never  been  any  malice  in  his  blows ;  he  frowned  and 
glared  and  struck  from  principle ;  he  was  at  heart  a  sim- 
ple man,  and  a  gentle  one.  .  .  .  Not  the  stuff  of  a  leader ; 
never  the  man  to  take  command  of  a  masterless  ship. 
Nevertheless,  a  man  of  a  certain  rude  and  simple  strength 
of  soul.  .  .  . 

Faith  was  sorry  he  was  gone ;  she  felt  they  could  have 
better  spared  another  man.  .  .  .  Almost  any  other,  save 
Noll  Wing. 

She  did  not  at  once  perceive  the  true  nature  of  the 
change  which  Mr.  Ham's  death  must  bring  about  aboard 
the  Sally.  In  the  balancing  of  man  and  man  which  had 
made  for  a  precarious  stability  there,  Mr.  Ham  had  taken 
a  passive,  but  nevertheless  important  part.  Now  he  was 

gone;  the  balance  was  disturbed.     But  neither  Faith  nor 

115 


116  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

the  others  at  once  perceived  this ;  none  of  them  saw  that 
Dan'l  Tobey  as  second  mate,  and  Dan'l  Tobey  as  first 
mate,  with  only  a  step  between  him  and  the  command, 
were  very  different  matters.  .  .  .  Not  even  Dan'l,  in  the 
beginning.  .  .  . 

They  were  all  too  busy,  for  one  thing;  there  were  the 
whales  to  be  cut  in  —  for  James  Tichel  had  killed  and 
towed  his  booty  back  to  the  Sally  an  hour  after  Mr.  Ham 
died.  Tichel's  whale,  and  the  one  that  had  killed  Mr. 
Ham,  would  give  the  whole  ship  work  for  days;  feverish 
work,  hard  and  engrossing.  Cap'n  Wing,  who  had  leaned 
upon  Mr.  Ham  in  the  past,  perforce  took  charge  of  this 
work,  and  the  strain  of  it  wearied  him.  He  no  longer  had 
the  abounding  vitality  which  it  demanded.  ...  It  wear- 
ied him ;  and  what  with  the  death  of  the  mate,  and  the 
rush  of  this  work  and -his  own  weariness,  he  altogether 
forgot  his  threat  to  have  the  man,  Brander,  whipped  in 
the  rigging.  He  forgot  Brander,  tried  to  drive  the  men 
at  their  tasks,  and  eventually  gave  up  in  a  stormy  out- 
break of  impatience  and  left  the  matter  in  the  hands  of 
Dan'l  Tobey. 

Dan'l  went  about  the  business  of  cutting  in  and  boiling 
the  blubber  in  a  deep  abstraction ;  he  was  considering  the 
problem  raised  by  the  death  of  Mr.  Ham,  which  none  of 
the  others  —  save,  perhaps,  Faith  —  had  yet  perceived. 

This  problem  was  simple;  yet  it  had  possibilities  of 
trouble.  Mr.  Ham  was  gone ;  Dan'l  automatically  became 
first  officer;  old  James  Tichel  ranked  as  second,  Willis 
as  third.  ...  But  the  place  of  fourth  mate  was  left 
empty.  ...  It  would  have  to  be  filled.  The  Sally  could 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  117 

not  go  on  about  her  business  with  one  boat's  crew  forever 
idle.  There  would  have  to  be  a  new  officer. 

Dan'l  was  troubled  by  the  problem,  for  the  obvious  rea- 
son that  Brander  was  the  only  man  aboard  with  an  officer's 
training;  that  Brander  was  the  obvious  choice.  Dan'l 
did  not  want  Brander  in  the  cabin ;  he  had  seen  too  much 
in  Faith's  eyes  that  night  when  she  heard  Brander  sing  by 
the  capstan.  .  .  .  He  had  eyes  to  see,  and  he  had  seen. 
And  there  was  boiling  in  Dan'l  a  storm  of  hatred  for 
Brander.  He  was  filled  with  a  rancor  unspeakable.  .  .  . 

No  one  spoke  of  this  necessity  for  choosing  another 
officer  until  the  last  bit  of  blubber  from  the  two  whales 
had  been  boiled ;  the  last  drop  of  oil  stowed  in  the  casks ; 
the  last  fleck  of  soot  scoured  from  the  decks.  Then  it 
was  old  Tichel  who  opened  the  matter.  It  was  at  dinner 
in  the  cabin  that  he  spoke.  Cap'n  Wing  was  there,  and 
Faith,  and  Dan'l,  and  Roy.  Willis  Cox  was  on  deck; 
Mr.  Ham's  chair  was  vacant.  Old  Tichel  looked  at  it, 
and  he  looked  at  Noll  Wing,  and  he  said : 

"  Who's  to  set  there,  cap'n  ?  "  He  pointed  toward  the 
empty  chair  as  he  spoke.  It  was  at  Cap'n  Wing's  right 
hand,  where  Mr.  Ham  had  been  accustomed  to  sit.  Dan'l 
Tobey  had  not  yet  preempted  it.  Dan'l  was  always  a 
discreet  man. 

Cap'n  Wing  looked  across  at  Tichel.  "  Mr.  Tobey,  o' 
course,"  he  said. 

Tichel  nodded.  "  Natural.  I  mean  —  who's  goin'  to 
be  the  new  officer?  Or  don't  you  figure  to  hev  one?  " 

Noll  had  been  drinking  that  day ;  he  was  befuddled ;  his 
brain  was  thick.  He  waved  one  of  his  big  hands  from 


118  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

side  to  side  as  though  to  brush  Tichel  away.  "  Leave  it 
to  me,"  he  said  harshly.  "  I  don't  call  for  any  pointers, 
Mr.  Tichel.  Leave  it  to  me.  .  .  ." 

James  Tichel  nodded  again;  he  got  up  and  wiped  his 
mouth  with  the  back  of  his  hand  and  went  on  deck.  .  .  . 
Dan'l  and  Roy,  Faith  and  Noll  Wing,  were  left  together. 
Dan'l  wondered  whether  it  was  time  for  him  to  speak ; 
he  studied  Noll's  lowered  countenance,  decided  to  hold  his 
tongue.  .  .  .  He  followed  Tichel  to  the  deck. 

Noll  said  nothing  of  the  matter  all  that  day.  At  night, 
when  they  were  going  to  bed,  Faith  asked  him :  "  Who 
have  you  decided  to  promote  to  be  an  officer,  Noll?  " 

He  said  harshly:  "You  heard  what  I  told  Tichel? 
Leave  it  to  me." 

"Of  course,"  she  agreed.  "I  just  wanted  to  know. 
Of  course.  .  .  ."  She  hesitated,  seemed  about  to  speak, 
then  held  her  peace.  Brander  was  the  only  man  aboard 
who  had  the  training;  Noll  must  see  that,  give  him  time. 

Faith  wanted  to  see  Brander  in  the  cabin.  She  ad- 
mitted this  to  herself,  quite  frankly ;  she  did  not  even  ask 
whether  there  was  anything  shameful  in  this  desire  of 
hers.  She  knew  there  was  not.  .  .  .  The  girl  had  come 
to  have  an  almost  reverential  regard  for  the  welfare  of 
the  Sally;  for  the  prosperity  of  the  cruise.  It  was  her 
husband's  charge;  the  responsibility  lay  on  him.  She 
wanted  matters  to  go  well;  she  wanted  Noll  to  keep  un- 
stained his  ancient  record.  .  .  .  Brander,  she  knew,  would 
help  him.  Brander  was  a  man,  an  able  officer,  skillful  and 
courageous;  a  good  man  to  have  at  one's  back  in  any 
battle.  .  .  .  She  was  beginning  to  see  that  Noll  would 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  119 

need  a  friend  before  this  cruise  was  done;  she  wanted 
Brander  on  Noll's  side. 

It  may  be  that  there  was  mingled  with  this  desire  a 
wish  that  Brander  might  have  the  place  that  was  due 
him;  but  there  was  nothing  in  her  thoughts  of  the  man 
that  Noll  might  not  have  known. 

She  watched  Noll,  next  day ;  and  more  than  once  she 
caught  him  watching  where  Brander  aided  with  some  rou- 
tine task,  or  talked  with  the  men.  There  was  trouble  in 
Noll's  eyes ;  and  because  she  had  come  to  understand  her 
husband  very  fully,  Faith  could  guess  this  trouble.  Noll 
was  torn  between  respect  for  Brander,  and  fear  of  him.  .  .  . 

Brander,  that  day  of  Mr.  Ham's  death,  had  faced  Noll 
unafraid ;  Noll  knew  he  was  no  coward.  But  by  the  same 
token,  he  had  sworn  to  have  Brander  whipped,  and  had 
not  done  so.  He  recognized  the  strength  and  courage  in 
the  man ;  and  at  the  same  time  he  hated  Brander  as  we 
hate  those  we  have  wronged.  Brander  was  not  afraid 
of  Noll;  and  for  that  reason,  if  for  no  other,  Noll  was 
afraid  of  Brander.  In  the  old  days,  when  he  walked  in 
his  strength,  Noll  Wing  had  feared  no  man,  had  asked  no 
man's  fear.  His  own  fist  had  sufficed  him.  But  now, 
when  his  heart  was  growing  old  in  his  breast,  he  was  the 
lone  wolf.  .  .  .  He  must  inspire  fear,  or  be  himself  afraid. 
.  .  .  He  was  afraid  of  Brander. 

Afraid  of  Brander.  .  .  .  But  Noll  was  no  fool.  No 
man  who  is  a  fool  can  long  master  other  men  as  Noll  had 
mastered  them.  He  set  himself  to  consider  the  matter  of 
Brander,  and  decide  what  was  to  "be  done. 

That  night,  when  dark  had  fallen,  and  the  Sally  Sims 


120  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

was  idling  on  a  slowly  stirring  sea,  Noll  called  the  mates 
into  the  cabin.  Faith  and  Roy  were  on  deck  together; 
and  Roy,  with  a  boy's  curiosity,  stole  to  the  top  of  the 
cabin  companion  to  listen  to  what  passed.  Faith  paid 
him  little  attention;  she  was  astern,  watching  the  phos- 
phorescent sparks  that  glowed  and  vanished  in  the  dis- 
turbed water  on  the  Sally's  wake.  The  whaler  was  scarce 
moving  at  all ;  there  was  no  foam  on  the  water  behind  her ; 
but  the  little  swirls  and  eddies  were  outlined  in  fire.  .  .  . 

Noll  looked  around  the  table  at  the  other  mates ;  and 
he  said  heavily : 

"  We've  got  to  have  a  new  officer." 

They  knew  that  as  well  as  he ;  the  statement  called  for 
no  reply.  Only  Dan'l  Tobey  said :  "  Yes,  sir.  .  .  .  And 
a  man  we  know,  and  can  count  on." 

Noll  raised  his  big  head  and  looked  at  Dan'l  bleakly. 
"  Mr.  Tobey,"  he  said,  "  you  know  the  men.  Who  is  there 
that  measures  up  to  our  wants,  d'you  think  ?  " 

Dan'l  started  to  speak;  then  he  hesitated,  changed  his 
mind.  .  .  .  Said  at  last :  - "  I'm  senior  officer  here,  sir. 
But  —  I've  not  the  experience  that  Mr.  Tichel  has,  for 
instance.  Perhaps  he  has  some  one  in  mind." 

Noll  nodded.  "All  right,  Mr.  Tichel.  If  you  have, 
say  out." 

James  Tichel  grinned  faintly.  "I  have.  But  you'll 
not  mind  me,  so  no  matter." 

"  Out  with  it,  any  fashion,"  Noll  insisted. 

"Silva,  then,"  said  Tichel.  "Silva!"  He  looked 
from  one  of  them  to  another.  Noll's  face  was  set  in  oppo- 
sition; Dan'l's  was  neutral;  Willis  Cox  was  obviously 


THE  SEA  BRIDE 

amazed.  "  Silva,"  said  old  Tichel,  for  the  third  time. 
*'  He's  a  Portugee.  .  .  .  All  right.  But  he's  a  good  man ; 
he  knows  the  boat;  he's  worked  with  Mr.  Ham.  And  he 
can  take  the  boat  and  make  a  harpooner  out  of  one  or  the 
other  of  two  men  in  her.  .  .  ."  He  stopped,  unused  to 
such  an  outbreak.  "  That's  my  say,  leastwise,"  he  fin- 
ished. 

For  a  moment,  no  one  spoke.  Then  Noll  looked  toward 
Dan'l  again.  "  Now,  Mr.  Tobey,"  he  said. 

Dan'l  leaned  forward,  resting  his  elbows  on  the  table. 
"  I've  nothing  against  Silva,"  he  said  quietly.  "  He's  a 
good  man.  The  best  man  in  the  crew,  I'm  thinking.  .  .  . 
But.  .  .  . 

"  The  man  I  have  in  mind  is  Roy  Kilcup.     No  less." 

Noll's  eyes  widened ;  and  old  Tichel  snapped :  "  He's 
never  been  in  a  boat." 

"  I  know  the  boy,"  Dan'l  insisted.  "  I'll  undertake  to 
teach  him  all  he  needs  know  in  a  week.  He  knows  boats ; 
he  has  guts  and  heart.  .  .  .  All  he  needs  to  know  is 
whales.  .  .  ." 

"  Aye,"  said  Willis  Cox  scornfully.  "  Aye,  that's  all. 
But  who  does  know  them?  " 

Dan'l  smiled.     "  You  might  well  enough  ask,  Mr.  Cox." 

Willis  flushed  painfully.  "  He's  just  a  kid,"  he  pro- 
tested. 

"  You  were  almost  three  months  older  when  you  struck 
your  first  whale,  if  I  mind  right,"  said  Dan'l  pleasantly. 

Big  Noll  Wing  interrupted  harshly :  "  That's  enough. 
Silva  and  Roy.  Who  would  you  have,  Mr.  Cox?  " 

"  Only  one  man  aboard,"  said  Willis. 


122  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

"  That's  who.  .  .  .  I've  no  mind  for  conundrums." 

"  Brander,"  said  Cox.     "  Brander !  " 

Noll  seemed  to  slump  a  little  in  his  chair;  he  smiled 
wearily.  Dan'l  Tobey  thought  the  captain  had  never 
looked  so  old.  His  big  fist  on  the  table  moved  a  little 
from  side  to  side,  then  was  still.  In  the  silence,  they  all 
heard  the  voice  of  Roy  Kilcup,  from  the  deck  above,  cry- 
ing to  Faith  in  a  trembling  whisper : 

"  Dan'l  wants  to  make  me  mate,  Sis  f  He  wants  to  make 
me  mate.  .  .  ." 

His  voice  was  so  tremulous,  so  obviously  the  voice  of  a 
boy,  that  every  man  of  them  save  Dan'l  Tobey  smiled. 
Noll  said  slowly :  "  He's  over  youthful  yet,  Dan'l. 
Teach  him  the  trade.  .  .  .  Happen,  some  day,  we'll 
see.  .  .  ." 

Dan'l  was  betrayed  by  anger  into  indiscretion.  "  Over 
youthful,  that  may  be,"  he  exclaimed.  "  But  not  a  Por- 
tugee ;  and  not  a  beach  comber.  .  .  ." 

Noll  held  up  his  big  hand,  silencing  Dan'l.  And  he 
looked  from  man  to  man ;  and  he  said  slowly,  as  an  old  man 
speaks :  "  I've  no  liking  for  Brander.  He  dared  me  to 
my  face,  t'other  day.  But  there's  this.  .  .  . 

"  He  holds  the  crew.  They  like  him.  And  he's  a  man ; 
and  he  knows  the  job;  and  he  does  not  know  how  to  be 
afraid.  Also,  he  has  a  right  to  the  place.  If  we  don't 
give  it  to  him,  he  might  well  enough  make  a  bit  trouble 
for  us.  Leastwise,  that's  the  seeming  of  it  to  me.  .  .  ." 
^  Dan'l  said  harshly :  "  I  never  heard  that  Noll  Wing 
feared  any  man." 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  128 

Noll  smiled.  "  Age  brings  wisdom,  Dan'l.  I'm  learn- 
ing to  fear.  .  .  .  So.  .  .  ." 

Dan'l  Tobey  found  Brander  on  the  fore  deck,  ten  min- 
utes later.  Brander  was  smoking,  with  two  of  the  men. 
Dan'l  touched  his  shoulder;  Brander  stepped  aside.  The 
two  men  faced  each  other  in  the  darkness  for  a  moment ; 
and  it  was  as  though  an  electric  spark  of  hostility  passed 
between  them.  Their  eyes  clashed.  .  .  . 

Then  Dan'l  said  pleasantly :  "  Get  your  traps  and 
come  aft  to  the  cabin,  Brander." 

Brander  chuckled  softly ;  he  tapped  out  his  pipe  in  his 
palm  and  tossed  the  glowing  ember  over  the  rail.  "  Thank 
you,  Mr.  Tobey,"  he  said.  "  I'm  pleased  to  accept  your 
kind  invitation." 

There  was  a  mocking  light  in  his  eye  that  Dan'l,  even 
in  the  dark,  could  see.  Another  man  might  have  struck ; 
but  Dan'l  was  never  one  for  blows.  He  turned  on  his 
heel  and  went  aft ;  and  Brander  dropped  into  the  fo'cVle 
to  collect  his  belongings. 


xin 

THUS  Brander  came  into  the  cabin.     He  and  Willis 
Cox  shared  a  small  compartment  off  the  main 
cabin;  while  Dan'l  and  tigerish  old  Tichel  shared 
another.     The  four  mates,  Roy,  Noll  Wing,  and  Faith  all 
lived  in  a  space  not  much  more  than  twenty-five  feet  square. 
This  intimacy  that  could  not  be  escaped  served  to  intensify 
the  clash  of  man  and  man.     Brander  and  Dan'l  Tobey 
became,  within  the  week,  open  and  avowed  enemies. 

They  made  no  great  show  of  their  enmity,  but  each  un- 
derstood. Dan'l,  by  virtue  of  his  position  as  mate,  grad- 
ually gathered  into  his  own  hands  the  authority  that  old 
Noll  Wing  was  letting  slip ;  he  assumed  many  of  the  small 
prerogatives  of  the  captain ;  and  he  took  advantage  of  his 
strength  to  give  Brander  irksome  tasks,  to  make  his  work 
unnecessarily  hard.  Noll  saw  nothing.  He  had  fallen 
into  something  like  a  stupor ;  he  was  rotting  at  the  heart, 
like  a  great  log  that  lies  prone  in  the  forest.  He  played 
with  his  authority;  he  had  days  when  he  liked  to  fancy 
that  he  was  the  Noll  of  old ;  but  most  of  the  time  he  spent 
in  the  cabin  below,  sleeping,  or  perhaps  drinking,  or  read- 
ing the  Bible  and  maundering  over  his  own  past  sins.  A 
wholesome  interest  in  the  Bible  is  a  good  thing  for  any 
man;  but  Noll's  interest  was  not  wholesome.  He  was 
morbidly  absorbed  in  the  Book;  he  read  it  and  mourned 
to  think  how  wicked  he  had  been.  He  complained  to  Faith 
as  though  she  were  to  blame  for  his  ancient  crimes. 

124 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  125 

It  came  to  pass  that  he  flooded  Faith,  little  by  little, 
with  the  details  of  his  own  misdemeanors.  His  own  orgy 
of  self-depreciation  led  him  to  decide  that  he  was  not 
worthy  of  her ;  he  told  her  so ;  and  when  Faith  sought  to 
hearten  him,  the  man  —  to  prove  his  point  —  recited  the 
tale  of  the  hot  blood  of  his  youth.  He  told  her  the  women 
he  had  known,  so  that  Faith  was  sickened ;  and  he  begged 
her  to  forgive  him,  and  she  did.  She  forgave  without 
rancor.  ...  It  was  characteristic  of  Faith  that  she  held 
no  anger  against  Noll  because  he  was  not  what  she  thought 
him.  She  had  married  him,  eyes  open.  .  .  .  He  was  her 
husband ;  she  was  his.  She  set  herself  to  serve  him,  to 
protect  him  against  himself,  with  all  the  loyalty  that  was 
in  her.  And  more  than  all,  she  set  herself  to  uphold  Noll 
as  the  master  of  his  ship.  He  must  bring  the  Sally  home 
with  bursting  casks ;  that  was  Faith's  creed  and  prayer. 
He  must  fight  the  good  fight;  he  must  meet  his  responsi- 
bility ;  he  must  be  master.  .  .  . 

She  worked  to  this  end  unceasingly;  and  on  the  whole 
her  efforts  were  without  avail.  Noll  steadily  degenerated. 
.  .  .  His  strength  fled  from  him. 

Faith  was  so  concerned  with  Noll  that  she  gave  little 
heed  to  the  hostility  between  Dan'l  Tobey  and  Brander. 
These  two  fought  their  fight  without  her  interference. 
And  this  struggle  between  them  was  a  curious  thing.  On 
Dan'l's  side,  it  was  a  constant  and  persistent  effort  to 
harass  Brander  and  discredit  him ;  on  Brander's  side,  it 
was  a  good-natured  opposition  to  this  effort.  When 
Dan'l  gave  Brander  two  men's  work  to  do,  Brander 
smiled  —  and  did  it.  When  Dan'l  blamed  Brander  for 


126  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

what  was  another's  fault,  or  no  fault  of  any  man,  Brander 
silently  and  cheerfully  took  the  blame.  Now  and  then 
he  looked  at  Dan'l  with  a  blue  flash  of  anger  in  his  eyes ; 
but  for  the  most  part  he  was  good-humored;  he  seemed 
amused  by  Dan'l,  nothing  more. 

Dan'l  chose,  one  day,  to  take  Brander  to  task  at  dinner 
in  the  cabin.  Noll  and  Faith  were  there,  and  the  four 
mates.  Brander,  as  was  his  duty,  came  down  last;  he 
sat  at  the  foot  of  the  board.  The  Sally  was  cruising  idly, 
watching  for  a  spout.  Brander  and  Willis  Cox  had  been 
on  deck  before  dinner.  There  was  little  for  either  of  them 
to  do,  save  watch  for  any  chance  of  harm,  or  wait  for 
word  of  a  whale. 

When  Brander  came  down,  he  caught  Faith's  eye  from 
the  foot  of  the  companion  ladder,  and  Faith  nodded  and 
said :  "  Good  morning."  Brander  smiled.  Dan'l  looked 
at  Faith;  and  he  looked  at  Brander;  and  he  gripped  his 
chair  to  hold  back  a  hot  word  that  would  have  ruined  him. 
Brander  sat  down  at  the  foot  of  the  table.  Noll  seemed 
scarce  to  know  he  had  come,  and  Faith  nodded  to  Brander 
to  pass  his  plate.  Brander  did  so,  and  Faith  served  him. 
The  plate  went  back  to  Brander. 

Dan'l  said  slowly :  "  Mr.  Brander,  the  main  hatch  was 
not  fast  when  I  came  down.  Did  you  secure  it?  " 

Brander  looked  up  quickly,  smiled.  "  No,  sir,"  he  said. 
« j  >» 

"  Why  not?  "  Dan'l  demanded  acidly.  "  Are  you  wait- 
ing for  a  squall  to  tear  it  off?  " 

Willis  Cox  said :  "  I  had  it  made  fast,  sir.  Before 
Mr.  Brander  came  on  deck." 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  127 

Dan'l  crimsoned  in  spite  of  himself ;  old  Tichel  grinned 
unpleasantly.  Brander  smiled ;  and  Faith  looked  at  Dan'l 
and  waited  for  his  word -of  acknowledgment.  Dan'l  saw 
her  eyes.  .  .  .  He  said  to  Brander :  "  Then,  of  course, 
you  couldn't  make  it  fast.  Why  didn't  you  say  so  — 
since  it  was  done  before  you  came  on  deck?  " 

Brander  said  soberly :  "  Sorry,  sir."  But  his  eyes 
were  twinkling.  What  use  to  explain ;  Dan'l  could  not  be 
in  a  worse  light.  And  Dan'l  knew  it.  He  said  hotly: 

"What  is  so  funny?  .  .  ." 

Noll  Wing  rumbled  from  the  head  of  the  table,  where 
he  had  seemed  concerned  only  with  his  food :  "  Let  be. 
Let  be.  The  thing  is  done.  That's  all  that's  needful, 
Mr.  Tobey." 

And  Dan'l  got  hold  of  himself;  he  said  respectfully: 
"  Right,  sir." 

The  matter  dropped  there.  ...  A  small  thing;  but 
an  incident  very  typical  of  the  tension  which  was  growing 
in  the  cabin  of  the  Sally  Sims.  Dan'l,  jaundiced  by  his 
own  hatred  of  Brander,  by  his  disordered  passion  for 
Faith,  was  not  good  company.  Save  Roy,  all  those  in 
the  cabin  avoided  him.  Roy  was  fiercely  loyal  to  Dan'l; 
and  he  hated  Brander  the  more  because  Brander  had  been 
given  the  mate's  berth  to  which  Roy  himself  had  foolishly 
aspired.  That  was  Dan'l's  doing,  that  aspiration ;  he  had 
taken  care  to  tell  Roy  that  he  had  proposed  Roy's  name. 
"  Brander  does  not  belong  in  the  cabin,"  he  told  Roy. 
"  He  is  rag  tag  and  bob  tail,  from  God  knows  where.  If 
I'd  been  Noll  Wing,  you  would  be  fourth  mate  to- 
day.  .  .  ." 


128  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

He  fed  Roy's  sense  of  wrong;  for  the  boy  might 
some  day  prove  a  useful  tool.  Dan'l  was  full  of  venom 
in  those  days;  but  he  had  not  yet  formed  his  ultimate 
plan. 

He  still  loved  Faith,  with  some  faint  traces  of  the  old 
decency.  He  knew  in  his  heart  that  she  would  never  love 
him ;  yet  he  would  never  be  content  till  he  got  this  from  her 
own  lips.  The  inevitable  happened  one  evening  when  a 
new  moon's  thin  crescent  faintly  lighted  the  dark  seas. 
Noll  had  gone  early  to  a  sodden  sleep ;  Faith  was  not 
sleepy  and  went  on  deck.  Dan'l,  from  his  cabin,  heard 
her  go ;  he  arose  and  followed  her.  .  .  . 

There  was  little  wind;  the  sea  was  flat;  the  Sally 
scarcely  stirred.  Dan'l  told  the  man  at  the  wheel  to  leave 
her  and  go  forward;  he  made  the  wheel  fast  and  let  the 
Sally  go  her  own  gait.  Her  canvas  was  all  stowed;  her 
yards  were  bare.  When  the  man  was  gone,  Dan'l  turned 
to  the  after  rail,  where  Faith  was  sitting.  The  man's 
mouth  was  hot  and  dry,  and  his  pulse  was  pounding.  He 
came  to  her ;  Faith  said  softly : 

"  Hello,  Dan'l.  .  .  ." 

Dan'l  mumbled  huskily.  ...  "...  Faith!"  He 
stood  beside  her,  and  they  looked  out  across  the  water, 
where  the  starlight  played.  Dan'l  was  trembling,  and 
Faith  felt  the  trouble  in  the  man,  as  she  had  felt  it  for 
weeks.  .  .  .  She  and  Dan'l  had  been  boy  and  girl  to- 
gether ;  she  was  infinitely  sorry  for  him.  .  .  . 

In  the  end,  while  he  stood  rigidly  beside  her,  she  laid 
her  hand  on  his  arm.  "  Dan'l,"  she  said,  "  I  wish  —  you 
would  get  over  being  so  unhappy." 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  129 

He  looked  at  her  through  the  dark ;  his  voice  was  like  a 
croak.  "  Unhappy  .  .  ."  he  repeated. 

"  It's  not  good  for  you,  Dan'l,"  said  Faith  gently. 
"  Unhappiness  is  —  it's  like  a  poison.  It  burns.  .  .  ." 

"Aye,"  said  Dan'l.  "That's  true,  Faith.  It 
burns.  .  .  ." 

"Why  not  forget  it?"  she  urged.  "You're  actually 
growing  thin  on  it,  Dan'l.  Your  face  is  lined.  .  .  ." 

Dan'l  tried  to  laugh.  "One  thing,"  he  said,  "the 
ship's  on  my  hands,  now.  Noll  Wing  —  he's  aging.  He's 
an  old  man,  Faith." 

Faith  turned  her  head  away  from  him  quickly ;  she  bit 
her  lip  in  the  darkness.  Dan'l  repeated :  "  The  Sally's 
on  my  hands,  Faith.  I'm  master  —  without  the  name  of 
it." 

She  said  quietly :  "  Noll  Wing  is  master  here,  Dan'l. 
Never  think  he  is  not." 

Dan'l  turned  abruptly  away;  he  stood  with  his  back 
to  her.  And  as  he  stood  there,  the  jealousy  of  Brander 
and  all  the  rancor  that  was  poisoning  the  man  gave  way 
for  a  moment  to  his  tenderness  for  Faith.  He  swung  back 
sharply,  gripped  her  shoulders.  ..."  Faith,"  he  said 
harshly,  "  Noll  is  master.  So  be  it.  But,  Faith  —  I  may 
still  love  you.  I  do.  Nothing  on  earth  can  stop  it. 
It's  all  there  is  in  me,  Faith.  You.  .  .  .  You.  ...  I 
would  worship  you;  he  kicks  you  with  every  word,  as  he 
kicks  a  dog.  Faith.  .  .  .  Faith.  .  .  ." 

She  faced  him  squarely.  "  Dan'l,  you  are  wrong.  You 
are  wrong  to  tell  me  this  —  to  speak  so.  ...  It  is  not  — 
manly,  Dan'l." 


130  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

The  reproach  in  her  voice  made  him  shrink ;  it  fired  him. 
He  caught  her,  cried:  "By  God.  ..."  He  would 
have  swept  her  into  his  arms.  .  .  . 

Brander  said,  from  the  top  of  the  companion:  "Mr. 
Tobey,  shall  I  set  a  man  at  the  wheel?  .  .  .  There's  wind 
coming.  .  .  ." 

Dan'l  cursed.  "  Hell ! "  He  flung  loose  from  Faith, 
he  whirled  on  Brander.  .  .  .  The  two  men  faced  each 
other  tensely,  Dan'l  crouching  with  bared  teeth,  Brander 
erect.  .  .  .  The  starlight  showed  a  little  smile  on  his  face. 
Abruptly,  Dan'l  straightened.  .  .  . 

"  Set  a  man  at  the  wheel  —  and  be  damned,  Brander  ? " 
he  said% 

And  he  brushed  past  the  fourth  mate  without  a  glance, 
and  went  below.  Brander  called  through  the  darkness  to 
a  knot  of  men  on  the  deck,  forward.  One  came  aft.  .  .  . 

Faith  still  stood  by  the  rail ;  Brander  paid  her  no  heed. 
The  man  took  the  wheel.  .  .  .  Brander  leaned  against  the 
forward  end  of  the  deckhouse.  After  a  little,  Faith 
stirred,  came  to  the  companion  to  go  below.  At  its  top, 
she  paused. 

"  Good  night,  Mr.  Brander,"  she  said. 

"  Good  night,"  he  called  pleasantly. 

She  went  below.  Dan'l,  writhing  in  his  bunk  below  old 
Tichel,  who  snored  above  him,  heard  her  cross  the  cabin 
and  go  into  Noll's.  And  the  nails  on  his  fingers  bit  his 
palms. 

The  second  day  after,  Dan'l  came  down  into  the  cabin 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  131 

to  find  Noll.  "  Would  you  mind  coming  on  deck  for  a 
moment,  sir?  "  he  asked. 

Noll  was  reading;  he  looked  up  resentfully.  "What 
now,  Mr.  Tobey?  Can't  you  handle  the  ship?  " 

"  I  want  you  to  see  a  thing.  .  .  ."  There  was  a  hint 
of  evil  in  Dan'l's  tone.  Faith  was  there,  heard,  won- 
dered. .  .  .  Noll  looked  at  the  mate;  bestirred  him- 
self. .  .  . 

They  went  on  deck  together;  and  Dan'l  pointed  for- 
ward. 

Brander  was  there,  by  the  tryworks.  Facing  him, 
grouped  about  him,  were  four  of  the  crew.  Mauger  was- 
among  them.  Brander  was  talking;  and  the  men  were 
laughing  at  what  he  said.  One  of  the  men  looked  aft  and 
saw  Dan'l  and  Noll  Wing  watching  them ;  and  the  man's 
face  sobered  instantly  and  he  backed  away  from  the  group. 
Brander  turned  around  and  saw  the  captain.  Noll  called 
to  him : 

"  Come  aft,  Mr.  Brander." 

Brander  came,  without  haste,  yet  quickly.  Noll  and 
Dan'l  waited  for  him  in  silence ;  they  kept  silent  when  he 
faced  them.  He  met  Noll  Wing's  sullen  and  angry  eyes. 
His  own  were  unashamed  and  unafraid.  "  What  is  it, 
sir?  "  he  asked  at  last. 

Noll  lowered  his  big  head  like  a  bull.  "  What  was  your 
talk  with  the  men,  there?  "  he  demanded. 

Brander  smiled.  "  The  man  Hatch  tripped  on  a  coil 
of  line  and  fell.  That  minded  me  of  a  thing  that  happened 
on  the  Thomas  Morgan,  and  I*  told  them  of  it.  A  fat 


132  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

greeny  caught  his  foot  in  the  rigging  and  dove  thirty  feet 
overside  into  the  sea.  ...  It  was  a  comical  thing,  sir. 
And  they  laughed  at  it." 

"  I  do  not  want  my  mates  consorting  with  the  crew," 
said  Noll  sulkily;  and  there  was  more  complaint  than 
accusation  in  his  voice.  Brandcr  said: 

"  It  does  no  harm  to  be  friendly  with  the  men.  Liking 
is  as  good  a  handle  as  fear,  to  hold  them  with." 

Old  Noll  tried  to  beat  down  Brander's  eyes  with  his  own ; 
but  his  own  were  the  first  to  shift.  He  shrank,  the  vigor 
of  his  anger  passed,  he  was  an  old  man  again.  "  Damn 
it,  if  you'd  rather  be  forward,  go  there  and  stay,"  he 
fretted.  "  Do  you  want  to  go  back  to  the  fo'c's'le,  man?  " 

Brander  said  respectfully:  "No,  sir.  I'll  do  as  you 
say." 

"  For  God's  sake,  do,"  Noll  whined.  He  turned  back 
to  the  cabin,  brushed  Dan'l.  "  And  you,  Mr.  Tobey. 
Don't  bother  me  with  sirch  matters." 

Dan'l  looked  at  Brander,  eyes  glinting.  "  I  thought 
it  important,  sir,"  he  said. 

Noll  grunted  and  went  below.  Dan'l,  with  a  trium- 
phant grin  at  Brander,  followed  him.  Faith  was  in  the 
main  cabin ;  she  looked  at  the  two  seriously.  "  What 
was  it,  Noll?  "  she  asked. 

Noll  shook  his  head  fretfully;  he  stumped  past  her 
toward  his  own  cabin.  "The  man  Brander,  currying 
favor  forward,"  he  said.  "  I  put  a  bee  in  his  bonnet." 

Dan'l  said :  "  He  meant  no  harm,  sir.  I'm  sure  of 
it.  .  .  ." 

Noll  whirled  on  him.     "  Then  why  did  you  run  to  me?  " 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  133 

"  So  that  you  might  set  him  right,  and  put  an  end  to't," 
said  Dan'l.  "  He's  a  bit  too  friendly  with  the  men.  .  .  . 
It  was  time  he  was  told.  .  .  ." 

"  Oh,  aye,"  said  Noll  wearily.     "  Come,  Faith.  .  .  ." 
The  door  of  the  after   cabin   shut  behind  them ;   and 
Dan'l,  left  alone,  smiled  at  his  own  thoughts  and  was  con- 
tent. 


XIV 

THERE  was  one  circumstance  that  counted  against 
Brander  in  the  eyes  of  James  Tichel,  of  Mr.  Cox, 
and  of  some  of  the  crew.  This  was  the  fact  that 
for  close  on  a  month  after  he  was  made  an  officer,  the 
Sally  Sims  sighted  not  one  loose  whale. 

There  were  fish  all  about  them.  During  the  interval, 
they  sighted  three  other  whaling  craft,  and  stopped  to 
gam  with  them.  Two  of  the  three  were  cutting  in  when 
the  Sally  sighted  them;  the  third  had  just  finished  trying 
out  the  blubber  of  a  ninety  barrel  bull.  But  the  Sally 
sighted  not  so  much  as  a  spout.  And  old  Tichel,  who 
had  the  superstitions  of  the  sea  in  his  blood,  began  to  look 
sidewise  at  Brander,  and  whisper  that  he  was  a  Jonah.  .  .  . 

That  new  moon  in  whose  light  Dan'l  tried  to  plead  with 
Faith  was  another  ill  omen.  Noll  Wing,  coming  on  deck 
the  first  night  the  moon  appeared,  saw  it  first  over  his 
left  shoulder  when  Faith  called  to  him  to  look.  He  swung 
his  head  to  the  left.  .  .  .  Saw  the  moon.  .  .  .  And  old 
Tichel's  cry  was  too  late  to  stop  him.  Faith  laughed  at 
the  second  mate;  Noll  grumbled  at  him.  But  Tichel  clung 
to  his  doubts;  and  Willis  Cox  was  converted  to  them  by 
the  indisputable  fact  that  the  Sally  sighted  no  whales. 

The  men  on  a  whaling  vessel  have  an  interest  in  the 
cruise.  They  are  not  paid  for  the  work  they  do,  for 
the  time  they  spend.  .  .  .  They  are  paid  according  to 

134 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  135 

the  earnings  of  the  vessel.  Their  salary,  or  wage,  is 
called  a  "  lay."  This  ranges  from  the  captain's  lay  down 
to  that  of  the  greeny.  The  captain's  is  a  twelfth ;  or  at 
least  this  was  Noll  Wing's  lay.  The  greenies  on  the  Sally 
Sims  were  on  a  hundred  and  seventy-fifth  lay.  Which, 
being  interpreted,  means  that  out  of  every  twelve  barrels 
of  oil  which  the  Sally  brought  home,  one  belonged  to  the 
captain ;  and  out  of  every  hundred  and  seventy-five,  one 
belonged  to  each  of  the  green  hands.  The  captain  got  one 
in  twelve,  the  mate  one  in  eighteen;  the  second  mate  got 
one  in  twenty-eight,  and  so  the  shares  ran  down  the  scale. 
The  lays  were  so  arranged  that  out  of  every  hundred  and 
seventy-five  barrels,  some  fifty-five  went  to  the  officers  and 
crew,  while  the  remainder  went  to  the  owner  to  pay  the 
expenses  of  the  voyage  and  give  him  his  profits.  .  .  . 
Three  per  cent.,  or  six,  or  a  hundred,  as  the  luck  of  the 
cruise  might  decide.  .  .  .  The  crew  were  sure  of  their 
money,  such  as  it  was,  before  the  owner  got  his ;  for  it 
was  the  custom  of  old  Jonathan  Felt  to  pay  off*  his  men 
at  the  current  price  of  oil  before  figuring  his  own  profit 
or  loss. 

The  effect  of  this  arrangement  was  to  give  the  mates 
and  the  men  an  incentive  to  harder  effort.  The  effect 
was  to  make  them  acutely  interested  in  the  success  of  the 
cruise.  And  by  the  same  token,  the  ill  luck  which  now 
beset  the  Sally  tended  to  fret  their  tempers  and  set  them 
growling  about  their  tasks.  .  .  . 

Some  blamed  Brander;  some  blamed  Noll  Wing;  some 
blamed  their  luck.  .  .  . 

Brander  felt  the  strain  as  much  as  any  of  them.     He 


136  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

was,  in  addition,  an  untried  man ;  he  had  not  yet  had  his 
chance  to  strike  a  whale,  and  that  is  the  final  test  of  a 
whaler's  officers.  When  he  was  taken  into  the  cabin  and 
given  a  boat,  he  was  forced  to  be  content  with  the  poor- 
est material  aboard.  That  is  the  fourth  mate's  luck.  He 
had  Mauger,  the  one-eyed  man;  he  had  Loum  as  his  har- 
pooner;  and  he  had  to  fill  out  his  crew  three  others  who 
were  weak  hands  at  the  oars  and  slack  at  every  task. 

He  set  himself  to  whipping  this  crew  into  shape ;  and  in 
the  luckless  days  when  the  Sally  idled  with  double  watches 
at  the  mastheads,  he  used  to  take  his  boat  off  and  push 
the  men  to  their  work,  training  steadily,  fighting  to  put 
pith  into  them.  He  was  not  a  man  given  to  the  use  of 
his  fists ;  neither  had  his  tongue  the  acid  bite  of  Dan'l 
Tobey's.  But  he  had  a  way  of  railing  at  the  men  good- 
naturedly,  abusing  them  with  a  smile,  that  made  them 
laugh  and  tug  the  harder  at  their  oars ;  he  won  from 
them  more  than  they  had  ever  given  before.  .  .  .  And 
he  inspired  in  them  a  distinct  loyalty  which  gave  birth, 
in  time,  to  a  pride  in  their  boat  which  pleased  Brander, 
and  promised  well. 

Mauger,  in  particular,  was  Brander's  shadow  and  slave. 
The  one-eyed  man,  who  had  been  turned  into  a  chuckling 
and  harmless  nonentity  by  the  captain's  blow  and  kick, 
found  Brander  kindly.  And  he  repaid  this  kindliness  with 
a  devotion  that  was  marked  by  every  man  aboard.  .  .  . 
This  devotion  was  marked,  above  all,  by  Noll  Wing.  And 
Noll,  in  whom  fear  of  the  one-eyed  man  was  growing  like 
a  cancer,  dreaded  Brander  all  the  more  because  of  it. 

Noll  and  Faith  were  playing  cribbage  in  the  after  cabin 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  137 

one  night ;  and  the  door  into  the  main  cabin  was  open. 
Faith  sat  on  the  seat  across  the  stern,  and  Noll  was  in 
a  chair,  his  back  to  the  door,  his  knees  supporting  the 
board  they  used  as  a  table.  Brander  came  down  from 
the  deck  with  word  that  one  of  the  men  had  cut  himself 
with  his  clasp  knife ;  he  wanted  to  go  to  the  medicine  chest 
in  the  after  cabin  for  materials  to  care  for  the  wound. 
The  sea  was  turbulent;  the  Sally  was  rocking  on  it;  the 
rigging  was  creaking  and  the  timbers  of  the  old  craft 
groaned  aloud.  This  'tumult  drowned  the  noise  of  Bran- 
der's  footsteps  as  he  came  down  the  ladder  and  across  the 
main  cabin.  When  he  appeared  in  the  doorway  behind 
Noll,  Faith  saw  him.  Noll  neither  saw  nor  heard  till 
Brander  said  quietly: 

"  Sorry  to  bother  you,  sir.  .  .   ." 

Noll,  whose  nerves  were  shaky,  whirled  up  from  his 
chair ;  the  board  slid  from  his  knees,  the  cards  were 
spilled.  .  .  .  His  face  was  ghastly  with  fright ;  and  when 
he  saw  Brander,  this  fright  turned  to  rage. 

"  Damn  you,  Brander,"  he  cried.  "  Don't  you  sneak 
up  on  me  like  that  again.  .  .  ." 

Brander  said  respectfully :  "  I'm  sorry.  I  should 
have.  .  .  ." 

"  What  do  you  want?  "  Noll  barked.  "  Get  out  of  here. 
Get  out  of  my  sight.  Don't  stand  there  gawping.  .  .  ." 

"  I  want  to  get  some.  .  .  ." 

"  I  don't  give  a  damn  what  you  want,"  Noll  cried. 
"  Get  up  on  deck,  where  you  belong.  Sharp.  .  .  ." 

Brander  stood  his  ground.  "  0ne  of  my  men  has  cut 
his  hand,"  he  said.  "  I  want  some  stuff  to  fix  it  up." 


138  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

Noll  wavered.  .  .  .  He  threw  up  his  hands.  "  All 
right.  Get  what  you  want.  ...  I  can't  get  rid  of  you 
any  other  way.  But  don't  come  sneaking  up  behind  me 
again.  I  don't  like  it,  Mr.  Brander." 

Brander  made  no  reply;  he  crossed  to  the  medicine 
chest  and  found  what  he  needed.  Faith  had  picked  up 
the  fallen  board,  the  cards.  .  .  .  She  said  quietly :  "  Sit 
down,  Noll.  We'll  deal  that  hand  over  again.  .  .  ." 

Big  Noll  sat  down,  watching  Brander  sidewise.  When 
Brander  was  gone,  Faith  asked :  "  Why  were  you  star- 
tled? " 

"  I  don't  like  that  man,"  Noll  said.  "  He's  too  thick 
with  Mauger  for  me.  Mauger'll  stick  a  knife  in  me,  some 
night.  ...  He  will,  Faith." 

Faith  shook  her  head.  "  Don't  be  foolish,  Noll. 
Mauger's  not  worth  being  afraid  of." 

Noll  laughed  mirthlessly.  "  I  tell  you,  there's  murder 
in  that  man,"  he  protested.  "  And  Brander's  with  him. 
.  .  .  I've  a  mind.  .  .  ." 

"  It's  your  crib,"  said  Faith,  and  played  a  card. 
"  Three." 

Noll  mechanically  took  up  the  game ;  but  Faith,  watch- 
ing, saw  that  his  eyes  were  furtively  alert  for  half  an  hour 
thereafter. 

On  the  twenty-fifth  day  after  the  death  of  Mr.  Ham,  at 
about  ten  o'clock  on  a  warm  and  lazy  morning,  the  man 
at  the  foremast  head  gave  tongue  to  the  long  hail  of  the 
whale-fisheries.  . 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  139 

"  Blo-o-o-o-w !     Ah-h-h-h-h  blo-o-o-o-o-o-w !  " 

The  droning  cry  swept  down  through  the  singing  rig- 
ging, swept  the  decks  of  the  Sally,  penetrated  into  the 
fo'c's'le,  dropped  into  the  cabin  and  brought  Dan'l  Tobey 
and  Noll  Wing  from  sleep  there  to  the  deck.  Faith  was 
already  there,  sewing  in  her  rocking  chair  aft  by  the 
wheel.  When  Dan'l  reached  the  deck,  he  saw  her  stand- 
ing with  her  sewing  gathered  in  her  hands,  the  gold  thim- 
ble gleaming  on  her  middle  finger,  watching  Brander. 
Brander  was  half  way  up  the  main  rigging,  glass  leveled 
to  the  southward. 

Noll  Wing  bellowed  to  the  masthead  man :  "  Where 
away  ?  .  .  ."  And  the  man  swept  a  hand  to  point.  Noll 
climbed  up  toward  Brander,  shouting  to  Mr.  Tobey  to 
bring  the  Sally  around  toward  where  the  whale  had  been 
sighted.  The  men  from  the  mastheads  and  the  fo'c's'le 
and  all  about  the  deck  jumped  to  their  places  at  the 
boats  to  wait  the  command  to  lower.  Brander  took  the 
glass  from  his  eye  as  Noll's  weight  pulled  at  the  rigging 
below  him,  and  looked  down  at  the  captain,  and  started 
to  speak ;  then  he  changed  his  mind  and  waited,  glass  in 
hand,  while  Noll  scrutinized  the  far  horizon.  .  .  . 

Noll  saw  a  black  speck  there,  and  focused  his  glass, 
and  stared.  .  .  .  He  watched  for  a  spout,  watched  for 
minutes  on  end.  None  came.  .  .  .  The  black  speck 
seemed  to  rise  a  little,  sluggishly,  with  the  swell.  .  .  .  He 
looked  up  to  Brander. 

"  D'you  make  a  spout?"  he  asked. 

Brander  shook  his  head.     "  No,  sir." 


140  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

Noll  looked  again,  and  Brander  leveled  his  glass  once 
more.  The  Sally  was  making  that  way,  now;  the  speck 
was  almost  dead  ahead  of  them,  far  on  the  sea.  Tiny  bits 
of  white  were  stirring  over  the  black  thing,  like  bits  of 
paper  in  the  wind.  .  .  .  Noll  asked  at  last :  "  What  do 
you  make  of  it,  Mr.  Brander?  A  boat.  ...  Or  a  dere- 
lict. .  .  ." 

"  I  make  it  a  dead  whale,"  said  Brander. 

"  No  whale,"  Noll  argued.     "  Rides  too  high." 

"  It  will  be  rotten,"  Brander  insisted.  "  Swollen.  .  .  . 
Full  of  putrid  gas." 

They  watched  a  while  longer,  neither  speaking.  The 
light  wind  that  urged  them  on  was  failing;  the  Sally 
slackened  her  pace,  bit  by  bit;  but  her  own  momentum 
and  some  casual  drift  of  the  surface  water  still  sent  her 
toward  the  floating  speck.  It  bulked  larger  in  their 
glasses. 

They  were  within  a  mile  of  it  before  Noll  Wing  shut  his 
glass.  "  Aye,  dead  whale,"  he  said  disgustedly,  and  be- 
gan to  descend  from  the  rigging.  Brander  dropped  lightly 
after  him.  Noll  stumped  past  the  men  at  their  stations 
by  the  boats  till  he  came  to  Dan'l  Tobey.  "  Dead  whale," 
he  told  Dan'l.  "  Let  it  be." 

Brander,  at  Noll's  heels,  asked:     "  Do  we  lower?  " 

Noll  shook  his  head.  "  No,"  he  said  sharply.  The 
disappointment,  coming  on  the  heels  of  the  hope  that  had 
been  roused,  had  made  him  fretful  and  angry.  Brander 
said: 

"  I  was  thinking.  .  .  ." 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  141 

Noll  turned  on  him  querulously.  "  Some  ships  have 
truck  with  carrion  and  dog  meat,"  he  snarled.  "  Not  the 
Sally.  I'll  not  play  buzzard." 

Brander  smiled.  "  It's  not  pleas-ant,  I  know.  .  .  .  But, 
aboard  the  Thomas  Morgan,  we  got  a  bit  of  ambergris  out 
of  such  a  whale.  .  .  .  This  one  was  lean,  you  saw.  .  .  . 
It  died  of  a  sickness.  That's  the  kind.  .  .  ." 

Dan'l  Tobey  said,  with  a  grin :  "  A  man'd  think  you 
like  the  smell  of  it,  Brander." 

"  Ambergris  is  fool's  talk,"  Noll  growled.  "  I've  heard 
tell  of  it  for  thirty  year,  and  never  saw  a  lump  bigger  than 
a  man's  thumb.  Fool's  talk,  Mr.  Brander.  Let  be.  .  .  ." 

He  turned  away ;  and  Brander  and  Dan'l  stood  together, 
watching  as  the  Sally  drifted  nearer  and  nearer  the  dead 
whale.  They  could  see  the  feasting  sea  birds  hovering; 
they  caught  once  or  twice  the  flash  of  a  leaping  body  as 
sharks  tore  at  the  carcass.  Here  and  there  the  blubber 
showed  white  where  great  chunks  had  been  ripped  away. 
They  watched,  and  drifted  nearer;  and  so  there  came  to 
them  presently  the  smell  of  it.  An  unspeakable  smell.  .  .  . 

The  men  caught  it  first,  in  the  bow ;  Dan'l  and  Brander 
heard  their  first  cries  of  disgust  before  the  slowly  drift- 
ing air  brought  them  the  odor.  But  five  minutes  later, 
it  had  engulfed  the  ship,  penetrated  even  into  the  cabin. 
Noll  got  it;  he  stuck  his  head  up  out  of  the  companion 
and  bellowed: 

"  Mr.  Tobey,  get  the  Sally  out  o'  range  of  that." 

Dan'l  said:  "Not  a  breath  of  wind,  sir."  He  went 
toward  the  companion,  as  Noll  stepped  out  on  deck ;  and 


THE  SEA  BRIDE 

he  grinned  with  malicious  inspiration.  "  Mr.  Brander 
likes  the  smell  of  it,  sir.  .  .  .  Why  not  send  him  off  to 
tow  it  out  of  range?  " 

NoU  nodded  fretfully.  "All  right,  all  right.  Send 
him.  .  .  ." 

Dan'l  gave  the  order.  Brander  assented  briskly.  "  I'll 
take  a  boarding  knife  with  me,  if  you  don't  object,  sir," 
he  said. 

Dan'l  chuckled.  He  was  enjoying  himself.  "  I'd  sug- 
gest a  clothespin,  Mr.  Brander,"  he  said ;  and  he  stood  aft 
and  watched  Brander  and  his  men  drop  their  boat  and 
put  away  and  row  toward  the  lean  carcass  of  the  dead 
whale,  a  quarter  mile  away.  The  jeers  of  the  seamen 
forward  pursued  them. 

Dan'l  got  his  glass  to  enjoy  watching  Brander  and  his 
crew  tow  the  whale  out  of  the  Sally's  neighborhood.  The 
men  worked  hard;  and  Dan'l  said  to  Cap'n  Wing: 
"  They're  in  haste  to  be  through,  you'll  see,  sir."  Once 
the  tow  was  under  way,  it  moved  swiftly.  Men  on  the 
Sally  breathed  again.  .  .  . 

They  saw,  after  a  time,  that  Brander  and  his  men  had 
stopped  rowing  and  brought  their  boat  alongside  the 
whale;  and  Dan'l's  glass  revealed  Brander  digging  and 
hacking  at  the  carcass  with  the  boarding  knife.  .  .  . 

Brander  came  back  alongside  in  due  time;  and  long 
before  he  reached  the  Sally,  Dan'l  could  see  the  exultation 
in  the  fourth  mate's  eyes.  As  they  slid  past  the  bow, 
Brander's  men  taunted  those  who  had  jeered  at  them. 
They  were  like  men  who  have  turned  the  tables  on  their 
enemies.  , 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  143 

Dan'l  was  uneasy.  .  .  .  The  boat  slid  into  position,  the 
men  hooked  on  the  tackles,  then  climbed  aboard.  .  .  . 
They  swung  on  the  falls,  the  boat  rose  into  its  cradle.  .  .  . 
And  Brander  turned  to  Dan'l  and  said  pleasantly: 

"  It  was  worth  the  smell,  Mr.  Tobey." 

He  pointed  into  the  boat;  and  Dan'l  looked  and  saw 
three  huge  chunks  of  black  and  waxy  stuff  —  black,  with 
3Tellowish  tints  showing  through  —  and  he  smelled  a  faint 
and  musky  fragrance.  And  he  looked  at  Brander. 
"What  is  it?"  he  asked.  "What  do  you  think  you've 
found?" 

"  Ambergris,"  said  Brander.  "  Three  big  chunks,  four 
little  ones.  Close  to  three  hundred  pounds.  .  .  ." 

One-eyed  Mauger  chuckled  at  Brander's  back.  "  And 
worth  three  hundred  a  pound,"  he  cackled.  "  Worth  the 
smell,  Mr.  Tobey !  " 


XV 

BRANDER'S   find,   laid   tenderly   upon   the   deck, 
studied  by  Noll  Wing  and  the  officers  on  their 
knees,   set  the  Sally  buzzing  with   the   clack   of 
tongues. 

There  was  a  romance  in  the  stuff  itself  that  caught 
attention.  It  came  from  the  rotting  carcass  of  the  great- 
est thing  that  lives ;  it  came  from  the  heart  of  a  vast 
stench.  .  .  .  Yet  itself  smelled  faintly  and  fragrantly  of 
musk,  and  had  the  power  of  multiplying  any  other  per- 
fume a  thousand  fold.  Not  a  man  on  the  Sally  had  ever 
seen  a  bit  larger  than  a  cartridge,  before ;  they  studied  it, 
handled  it,  marveled  at  it. 

Cap'n  Wing  stood  up  stiffly  from  bending  over  the  stuff 
at  last ;  he  looked  at  Brander.  "  It's  ugl}T  enough,"  he 
said.  "You're  sure  it's  the  stuff  you  think?  " 

Brander  nodded.     "  Yes,  sir,  quite  sure." 

"  What's  it  worth?  "  Cap'n  Wing  asked. 

"  Hundred  and  fifty  to  three  hundred  dollars  a  pound  — 
price  changes." 

Noll  looked  at  the  waxy  stuff  again.  "  It  don't  look 
it,"  he  said.  "  How  much  is  there  of  it?  " 

"  Close  to  three  hundred  pounds.  .  .  ." 

Noll's  lips  moved  with  the  computation.  He  said,  in  a 
voice  that  was  hushed  in  spite  of  himself :  "  Close  to 
ninety  thousand  dollars.  .  .  ." 

144 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  145 

Brander  smiled.     "  That's  the  maximum,  of  course." 

Dan'l  Tobey  said :  "  You've  done  the  rest  of  us  a  serv- 
ice, Mr.  Brander." 

Brander  looked  at  him ;  and  an  imp  of  mischief  gleamed 
in  his  eye.  He  said  quietly :  "  The  rest  of  you.  I  was 
sent  out  to  remove  the  carcass,  not  to  dissect  it.  The 
digging  for  this  was  my  private  enterprise,  Mr.  Tobey." 

Old  James  Tichel  gasped  under  his  breath.  Dan'l 
started  to  speak,  then  looked  to  Noll.  They  all  looked 
toward  Cap'n  Noll  Wing.  ...  It  was  for  him  to  deal 
with  Brander's  claim.  .  .  .  They  looked  to  Noll;  and 
big  Noll  stared  at  the  precious  stuff  on  the  deck,  and  at 
Brander.  .  .  .  And  he  said  nothing. 

Brander  smiled.  He  called  Mauger  to  come  aft  and 
help  him,  and  he  proceeded  with  the  utmost  care  to  clean 
the  lumps  of  ambergris  of  the  filth  that  clung  to  them. 
He  paid  no  further  heed  to  the  men  about  him.  Noll  went 
below ;  and  Faith,  who  had  listened  without  speaking,  fol- 
lowed him.  Dan'l  and  old  Tichel  got  together  by  the 
after  rail  and  talked  in  whispers.  Willis  Cox  stood, 
watching.  .  .  .  The  young  man's  eyes  were  wide  and  his 
cheeks  were  white.  These  seven  ugly  lumps  of  something 
like  hard,  dirty  yellow  soap  were  worth  more  than  the 
whole  cruise  of  the  Sally  might  be  expected  to  pay.  .  .  . 
They  caught  Willis's  imagination;  he  could  not  take  his 
eyes  from  them. 

Brander  had  Mauger  fetch  whale  oil ;  he  washed  the 
lumps  in  this  as  tenderly  as  a  mother  bathes  a  child.  The 
black  washed  away,  they  became  an  even,  dull  yellow  in 
his  hands.  .  .  .  Here  and  there,  bits  of  white  stuff  like 


146  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

bones  showed  in  them.  .  .  .  Bits  of  the  bones  of  the  gi- 
gantic squid  on  which  the  cachalot  feeds.  Their  faint, 
persistent  odor  spread  around  them.  .  .  . 

When  the  cleaning  was  done,  Mauger  fetched  steelyards 
and  they  weighed  the  lumps,  slinging  each  with  care.  .  .  . 
The  larger  ones  were  so  heavy  that  they  had  to  make  the 
scales  fast  to  the  rigging.  .  .  .  The  largest  weighed 
seventy-four  pounds  and  a  fraction;  the  next  was  sixty- 
one;  the  third,  forty-eight.  The  four  smaller  lumps, 
weighed  together,  tipped  the  beam  at  nineteen  pounds. 
.  .  .  The  seven  totaled  two  hundred  and  two  pounds.  .  .  . 

Mauger  was  disappointed  at  that ;  he  complained :  "  I 
took  'em  to  weigh  three  hundred,  anyways.  .  .  ." 

Brander  looked  at  Willis.  "  Two  hundred  isn't  to  be 
laughed  at!  Eh,  Mr.  Cox?  " 

Willis  said  hoarsely :  "  That  must  be  the  biggest  find 
of  ambergris  ever  was." 

Brander  shook  his  head.  "  The  Watchman,  out  o'  Nan- 
tucket,  brought  back  eight  hundred  pounds,  in  '58. 
I've  heard  so,  anyways." 

Willis  had  nothing  to  say  to  that;  he  went  aft  to  join 
Tichel  and  Dan'l  Tobey  and  tell  them  the  weight  of  the 
stuff.  .  .  .  Brander  sent  for  Eph  Hitch,  the  cooper.  .  .  . 
He  showed  him  the  ambergris.  .  .  . 

"  Fix  me  up  a  cask,"  he  said.  "  Big  enough  to  hold  all 
that.  .  .  .  We'll  stow  it  dry.  .  .  ." 

Eph  scratched  his  head.  He  spat  over  the  rail.  "  Fix 
you  up  a  cask?  "  he  repeated.  "  Oh,  aye."  He  empha- 
sized the  pronoun;  and  Brander 's  eyes  twinkled. 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  147 

They  packed  the  ambergris  away  in  the  captain's  store- 
room ;  the  compartment  at  the  bottom  of  the  Sally,  under 
the  cabin,  in  the  very  stern.  It  rested  there  among  the 
barrels  and  casks  of  food  and  the  general  supplies.  .  .  . 
There  was  no  access  to  this  place  save  through  the  cabin 
itself;  it  was  not  connected  with  the  after  hold  where 
water  and  general  stores  and  gear  were  stowed  away. 
Brander  suggested  putting  it  there ;  he  came  to  Noll  Wing 
with  his  request,  and  because  Dan'l  Tobey  was  with  Noll, 
Brander  framed  his  question  in  a  personal  form. 

"  I'd  like  to  stow  this  below  us  here,"  he  said.  "  Best 
it  be  out  of  reach  of  the  men." 

Dan'l  scowled ;  Noll  looked  up  heavily,  met  Brander's 
eyes.  In  the  end,  he  nodded.  "  Where  you  like,"  he  said 
sulkily.  "  Don't  bother  me." 

Brander  smiled;  and  the  cask  was  hidden  away  be- 
low. .  .  . 

But  it  was  not  forgotten;  it  could  not  be  forgotten. 
From  its  hiding  place,  the  ambergris  made  its  influence 
felt  all  over  the  vessel.  It  was  like  dynamite  in  its  poten- 
tialities for  mischief.  The  mates  could  not  forget  it ;  the 
boat-steerers  in  the  steerage  discussed  it  over  and  over; 
the  men  forward  in  the  fo'c's'le  argued  about  it  endlessly. 

It  was  a  rich  treasure,  worth  as  much  as  the  whole 
cruise  was  like  to  be  worth  in  oil;  and  it  was  all  in  one 
lump.  .  .  .  That  is  to  say,  it  was  no  more  than  a  heavy  bur- 
den for  a  strong  man.  Two  men  could  have  carried  it.  ... 

A  thousand  acres  of  well-tilled  farm  land  are  worth  a 
great  deal  of  money;  but  this  form  of  riches  is  not  one 


148  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

to  catch  the  imagination.  Wealth  becomes  more  fasci- 
nating as  it  becomes  more  compact.  Coal  is  more  treas- 
ured than  an  equal  value  of  earth ;  lead  is  more  treasured 
than  coal;  and  men  will  die  for  a  nugget  of  gold  that  is 
worth  no  more  than  the  unconsidered  riches  which  lie 
all  about  them.  Great  value  in  small  compass  sets  men 
by  the  ears.  .  .  . 

Every  man  aboard  the  Sally  had  a  direct  and  personal 
interest  in  Brander's  find  of  ambergris.  And  the  matter 
of  their  debate  was  this:  was  the  ambergris  the  property 
of  the  Sally,  a  fruit  of  the  voyage;  or  was  it  Brander's? 
If  it  was  a  part  of  the  profits  of  the  cruise,  they  would 
all  share  in  it.  If  it  was  Brander's,  they  would  not.  .  .  . 

Brander  —  and  this  word  had  gone  around  the  ship  — 
had  spoken  of  it  as  his  own.  For  which  some  condemned 
and  hated  him ;  some  praised  and  chose  to  flatter  him. 
If  the  worth  of  the  stuff  was  divided  between  them  all, 
Noll  Wing  and  Dan'l  Tobey  would  have  the  lion's  share, 
and  the  men  forward  would  have  no  more  than  the  price 
of  a  debauch.  If  it  were  Brander's  alone,  they  might  beg 
or  steal  a  larger  share  from  him.  Or  —  and  not  a  few 
had  this  thought  —  they  might  seize  the  whole  treasure 
and  make  off  with  it.  ... 

The  possibilities  were  infinite ;  the  potentialities  for  trou- 
ble were  enormous. 

This  new  tension  aboard  the  Sally  came  to  a  head  in  the 
cabin ;  the  very  air  there  was  charged  with  it.  Dan'l  and 
old  Tichel  were  against  Brander  from  the  first;  Cox  was 
inclined  to  support  him.  Dan'l  sought  to  sound  Noll 
Wing  and  learn  his  attitude.  ,  .  . 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  149 

He  said  to  Noll  casually,  one  day :  "  The  'gris  will 
make  this  a  fat  cruise,  sir." 

Noll  nodded.     "  Oh,  aye.  ...  No  doubt !  " 

Dan'l  looked  away.  "  Of  course,  Brander  doesn't  in- 
tend to  claim  it  all.  .  .  .  To  push  his  claim.  .  .  ." 

"  Ye  think  not?  "  Noll  asked  anxiously. 

"  No,"  said  Dan'l.  "  He  knows  he  can't.  .  .  .  It's  a 
part  of  the  takings  of  the  Sally.  .  .  ." 

Noll  wagged  his  head  dolefully :  "  Aye,  but  will  the 
man  see  it  that  way  ?  " 

"  He'll  have  to." 

The  captain  looked  up  at  Dan'l  cautiously.  "  Did  you 
mark  the  greed  in  the  one  eye  of  Mauger  when  they  came 
aboard?"  he  asked.  "Mauger  sets  store  by  the 
stuff.  .  .  ." 

Dan'l  snorted.     "  Mauger  !     Pshaw !  " 

Noll  shifted  uneasily  in  his  chair.  "  Just  the  same," 
he  said,  "  Mauger  holds  a  grudge  against  me.  .  .  .  He 
but  waits  his  chance  for  a  knife  in  my  back.  .  .  .  And 
Brander  is  his  friend,  you'll  mind." 

"  You're  not  afraid  of  the  two  of  them.  .  .  .  There's  no 
need.  I'll  undertake  to  see  to  that.  .  .  ." 

"  You're  a  strong  man,  Dan'l,"  said  old  Noll.  "  A 
strong,  youthful  man.  .  .  .  But  I'm  getting  old.  Eh, 
Dan'l.  .  .  ."  His  voice  broke  with  his  pity  of  himself. 
"  Eh,  Dan'l,  I've  sailed  the  sea  too  long.  .  .  ." 

Dan'l  said,  with  some  scorn  in  his  tone:  "  Nevertheless, 
you're  not  afraid.  .  .  ." 

Then  Faith  opened  the  door  from  the  after  cabin ;  and 
Dan'l  checked  his  word.  Faith  looked  from  Dan'l  to  her 


150  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

husband,  and  her  eyes  hardened  as  she  looked  to  Dan'l 
again.  "  You'll  not  be  saying  Noll  Wing  is  afraid  of  — 
anything,  Dan'l,"  she  said  mildly. 

"  I'm  telling  him,"  said  Dan'l,  "  that  he  should  not  per- 
mit Brander  to  claim  the  ambergris  for  himself." 

Faith  smiled  a  little.  "  You  think  Brander  means  to 
do  that?" 

"  He  has  done  it,"  said  Dan'l  stubbornly.  "  He  claimed 
it  in  the  beginning;  he  speaks  of  what  he  will  do  with  it. 
.  .  .  He  speaks  of  it  as  his  own." 

"  I  think,"  said  Faith,  "  that  something  has  robbed  you 
of  discernment,  Dan'l.  Why  do  you  hate  Brander?  Is 
he  not  a  good  officer?  ...  A  man?  " 

Dan'l  might  have  spoken,  but  Brander  himself  dropped 
down  the  ladder  from  the  deck  just  then;  and  Dan'l  stood 
silently  for  a  moment,  watching.  .  .  . 

Brander  looked  at  Faith,  and  spoke  to  her,  and  to  the 
others.  Then  he  went  into  his  own  cabin  and  closed  the 
door.  They  all  knew  the  thinness  of  the  cabin  walls ; 
what  they  might  say,  Brander  could  hear  distinctly. 
Dan'l  turned  without  a  word,  and  went  on  deck. 

He  met  Tichel  there,  and  told  him  what  had  passed. 
Tichel  grinned  angrily.  ..."  Aye,"  said  the  old  man. 
"  He  comes  and  Jonahs  us,  so  we  sight  no  whale  for  a 
month  on  end.  .  .  .  And  then  is  wishful  to  hold  the  prize 
that  the  Sally's  boat  found."  His  teeth  set ;  his  fist  rose. 
•  .  .  And  Dan'l  nodded  his  agreement. 

"  We'll  see  that  he  does  not,  in  the  end,"  he  said. 

"  Aye,"  said  Tichel.     "  Aye,  we'll  see  t'that." 

Roy  Kilcup  was  a  partisan  of  Dan'l's,  in  this  as  in  all 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  151 

things ;  and  Roy  alone  faced  Brander  on  the  matter.  He 
asked  the  fourth  mate  straightforwardly :  "  Look  here, 
do  you  claim  that  ambergris  is  yours  ?  " 

Brander  smiled  at  the  boy.  "Why,  youngster?"  he 
asked. 

"  Because  I  want  to  know,"  said  Roy.     "  That's  why  1 " 

"  Well,"  Brander  chuckled,  "  others  want  to  know. 
They're  not  sleeping  well  of  nights,  for  wanting.  .  .  ." 

"  Do  you,  or  don't  you?  "  Roy  insisted. 

Brander  leaned  toward  him  and  whispered  amiably: 
"  I'll  tell  you,  the  day  we  touch  at  home,"  he  promised. 
"  Now  —  run  along." 

Thus  they  were  all  concerned;  but  Noll  Wing  took  the 
matter  harder  than  any,  because  Mauger,  whom  he  feared, 
was  concerned  in  it.  His  worry  over  it  gave  him  one 
sleepless  night ;  he  rose  in  that  night  and  found  the  whis- 
key. .  .  .  And  for  the  first  time  in  all  his  life,  Noll  Wing 
drank  himself  into  a  stupor. 

He  had  always  been  a  steady  drinker;  he  had  often 
been  inflamed  with  liquor.  But  his  stomach  was  strong; 
he  could  carry  it ;  he  had  never  debauched  himself. 

This  time,  he  became  like  a  log,  and  Faith  found  him, 
when  she  woke  in  the  morning,  unclean  with  his  own  vomit- 
ings, sodden  and  helpless  as  a  snoring  log.  He  lay  thus 
two  days.  .  .  .  And  he  woke  at  last  with  a  scream  of 
fright,  and  swore  that  Mauger  was  at  him  with  a  knife, 
so  that  Dan'l  and  Willis  Cox  had  to  hold  the  man  quiet 
till  the  hallucination  passed. 


FAITH  and  Brander  had  not,  in  this  time,  spoken  a 
word  together  since  they  met  Mr.  Ham  upon  the 
beach  after  Brander  joined  Faith  by  the  island 
pool.  In  the  beginning,  Brander  was  forward,  and  a  gulf 
separated  them.  .  .  .  Not  to  mention  forty  feet  of  deck. 
Faith  stayed  aft;  Brander  stayed  forward.  Afterward, 
when  Brander  came  into  the  cabin,  there  was  still  a  gulf. 
.  .  .  They  met  at  table ;  they  encountered  each  other,  now 
and  then,  in  the  cabin  or  on  deck.  But  Brander  had  his 
work  to  do,  and  did  it ;  and  Faith  was  much  with  Noll. 

In  the  bush,  by  the  pool,  Faith  had  forgotten  Noll  Wing 
for  a  little  space;  and  in  the  forgetting,  she  and  Brander 
had  become  friends  very  quickly.  .  .  .  His  question,  as 
they  reached  the  beach,  made  her  remember  Noll ;  and  her 
answer  to  that  question,  when  she  told  him  she  was  Noll's 
wife,  had  reared  a  wall  between  them.  Brander  was  a 
man ;  too  much  of  a  man  to  forget  that  she  was  Noll's  wife. 
.  .  .  He  did  not  forget. 

In  the  Sally,  after  Brander  came  aft,  Faith  was  toward 
him  as  she  was  toward  the  other  mates.  .  .  .  With  this 
difference.  She  had  known  them  since  the  beginning  of  the 
voyage ;  she  had  known  two  of  them  —  Dan'l  and  Willis 
Cox  —  since  they  were  boys.  They  were  ticketed  in  her 
thoughts;  they  were  old  friends,  but  they  could  never  be 
anything  more.  Therefore  she  talked  often  with  them,  as 

152 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  153 

she  did  with  Tichel,  and  as  she  had  done  with  Mr.  Ham. 
She  forgot  they  were  men,  remembering  only  that  they 
were  friends.  .  .  . 

Brander,  on  the  other  hand,  was  a  newcomer,  a  stranger. 
.  .  .  When  a  woman  meets  a  strange  man,  or  when  a  man 
meets  a  strange  woman,  there  is  an  instant  and  usually 
unconscious  testing  and  questioning.  This  is  more  lively 
in  the  woman  than  in  the  man ;  she  is  more  apt  to  put  it 
into  words  in  her  thoughts,  more  apt  to  ask  herself: 
"  Could  I  love  him?  "  For  a  man  does  not  ask  this  ques- 
tion at  all  until  he  has  begun  to  love ;  a  woman,  consciously 
or  unconsciously,  asks  it  at  once.  .  .  .  And  until  this  ques- 
tion is  answered ;  until  the  inner  thing  that  is  sex  has  made 
decision,  a  woman  is  reticent  and  slow  to  accept  the  com- 
munion of  even  casual  conversation.  .  .  . 

Faith,  almost  unconsciously,  avoided  Brander.  She 
spoke  with  him ;  but  there  was  a  bar  in  her  words.  She  saw 
him ;  but  her  eyes  put  a  wall  between  them.  She  thought 
of  him  ;  but  she  hid  her  thoughts  from  herself.  And  Bran- 
der felt  this,  and  respected  it.  ...  There  was  between 
them  an  unspoken  conspiracy  of  silence ;  an  unspoken 
agreement  that  held  them  apart.  .  .  . 

This  agreement  was  broken,  and  broken  by  Faith,  on  an 
afternoon  some  ten  days  after  the  finding  of  the  ambergris. 
The  day  was  fair ;  the  wind  was  no  more  than  normal.  .  .  . 
No  whales  had  yet  been  sighted  by  the  Sally,  and  her  decks 
were  clear  of  oil.  Mr.  Tichel's  watch  had  the  ship;  but 
Tichel  himself,  old  man  that  he  was,  had  stayed  below  and 
was  asleep  in  his  cabin.  Dan'l  wa's  asleep  there,  also ;  and 
Noll  Wing  dozed  in  the  after  cabin.  Willis  Cox  was  read- 


154-  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

ing,  under  the  boathouse;  and  two  of  the  harpooners 
played  idly  at  some  game  of  cards  in  the  lee  of  the  rail 
beside  him.  Brander  and  the  man  at  the  wheel  had  the 
after  deck  to  themselves  when  Faith  came  up  from  the 
cabin.  .  .  . 

Roy  was  with  her ;  but  the  boy  went  forward  at  once  and 
climbed  the  rigging  to  the  masthead,  to  stand  watch  with 
the  men  there.  He  loved  to  perch  high  above  the  decks, 
with  the  sea  spread  out  like  a  blue  saucer  below  him.  He 
teased  Faith  to  go  with  him;  but  Faith  shook  her  head. 
There  was  always  a  certain  physical  indolence  about 
Faith  that  contrasted  with  the  vigor  of  her  habits  of 
thought  and  speech ;  she  liked  to  sit  quietly  and  read,  or 
sew,  or  think,  and  she  cared  nothing  at  all  for  such  riotous 
exertion  as  Roy  liked. 

"  No,  Roy,"  she  told  her  brother.  "  You  go  if  you  like. 
I'll  stay  down  here." 

"  Come  on,  Sis,"  he  teased.  "  I  guess  you're  afraid. 
.  .  .  You  never  could  even  climb  a  tree  without  squeal- 
ing. .  .  .  Come  on." 

She  laughed  softly.  "No.  I  don't  like  to  do  hard 
things  —  like  that." 

"  I  won't  let  you  fall,"  he  promised. 

"  Some  day,  maybe.  .  .  .  Run  along,  Roy." 

The  boy  went  away  resentfully ;  a  little  more  resentfully 
because  Brander  had  heard  her  refusal.  He  looked  back 
from  the  fore  rigging,  and  saw  Faith  standing  near  Bran- 
der. .  .  .  And  for  a  moment  he  was  minded  to  go  back 
and  join  them;  but  the  dwindling  line  of  the  ropes  above 
him  lured  him  on.  He  climbed,  lost  himself  among  the 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  155 

great  bosoms  of  the  sails,  stopped  to  ride  a  yard  like  a 
horse  and  exult  when  it  pitched  and  rolled.  .  .  .  Climbed, 
at  last,  to  the  masthead  perch  where  the  lookouts  stood  in 
their  hoops  with  their  eyes  sweeping  the  wide  circle  of  the 
seas.  .  .  . 

And  Faith  and  Brander  were  together.  Save  for  the 
man  at  the  wheel,  whom  neither  of  them  heeded,  they  were 
alone.  Brander  was  at  the  after  rail  when  she  appeared ; 
he  nodded  to  her,  and  smiled.  She  stood  near  him,  hands 
on  the  rail,  looking  out  across  the  sea  astern.  The  wind 
tugged  at  her,  played  with  the  soft  hair  about  her  brow, 
whipped  her  cheeks  to  fire.  .  .  . 

She  did  not  look  at  Brander,  but  Brander  looked  at  her. 
The  man  liked  what  he  saw;  he  liked  not  so  much  the 
beauty  of  her,  as  the  strength  and  poise  that  lay  in  her 
face.  Her  broad,  low  brow.  .  .  .  Her  straight,  fine  nose. 
.  .  .  Her  sweetly  molded  lips,  and  rounding  chin.  .  .  . 
Strength  there,  and  calm,  and  power.  .  .  .  Beauty,  too ; 
more  than  one  woman's  measure  of  beauty,  perhaps.  But 
above  all,  strength.  That  was  what  Brander  saw. 

It  was  no  new  thing  for  the  man  to  study  Faith's  coun- 
tenance. It  was  firm-fastened  in  his  thoughts;  he  could 
conjure  it  up  at  will,  and  it  appeared  before  him,  many 
times,  without  his  volition.  Faith's  eyes  were  blue,  and 
they  were  large,  and  Brander  could  never  forget  them. 
The  eye  of  a  man  or  of  a  woman  is  a  thing  almost  alive; 
it  seems  to  have  a  soul  of  its  own.  Stand  at  one  side, 
unobserved,  and  watch  the  eyes  of  your  friend ;  you  will 
feel  that  you  are  watching  some  living  personality  apart 
from  the  friend  you  know.  It  is  like  watching  a  wild 


156  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

thing  which  is  hiding  in  the  forest.  The  eye  is  so  alert, 
so  infinitely  alert,  so  quick  to  swing  to  right  or  left  at  any 
sound.  .  .  . 

Women's  eyes  differ  as  much  as  women  themselves. 
Faith's  eyes  were  like  Faith  herself;  there  was  no  fear  or 
uncertainty  in  them;  and  there  was  no  coquettishness,  no 
seduction.  They  were  level  and  calm  and  perfectly  as- 
sured ;  and  Brander  thought  that  to  look  into  them  was 
like  taking  a  strong  man's  hand.  He  thought  Faith  as 
fine  a  thing  as  woman  can  be.  .  .  . 

Brander  made  sure  that  Faith  did  not  see  him  studying 
her  thus ;  nevertheless,  Faith  must  have  felt  his  scrutiny. 
She  was  conscious  of  an  unaccountable  diffidence ;  and  when 
she  spoke  to  him  at  last,  without  looking  toward  him,  her 
voice  was  so  low  he  scarcely  heard  at  all.  She  said  some 
idle  thing  about  the  beauty  of  the  sea.  .  .  . 

Brander  smiled.  The  sky  was  so  clear,  and  the  heavens 
were  so  blue  that  sky  and  heaven  seemed  to  be  cousins  or 
sisters,  hands  clasping  at  the  far  horizon.  He  said  ami- 
ably :  "  Always  think  —  looking  off  into  the  blue  on  a 
day  like  this  is  like  looking  deep  into  blue  eyes.  .  .  . 
There  seems  to  be  a  soul  off  there,  something  hidden,  out 
of  sight.  .  .  .  But  you  can  feel  it  looking  back  at  you." 

Faith  was  so  surprised  that  she  looked  up  at  him 
quickly,  sidewise ;  and  she  smiled,  her  cheeks  a  little  flushed. 
"I  never  felt  —  just  that,"  she  said.  "But  —  did  you 
ever  look  at  a  hill,  so  far  away  it  is  just  a  deep  blue 
shape  against  the  sky?  Blue's  a  beautiful  color  to  look 
at,  I  think." 

He  nodded.     "  From  my  hill,"  he  said,  "  I  used  to  be 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  157 

able  to  see  an  island  northwest  of  the  one  where  I  was.  .  .  . 
Barely  see  it.  Just  a  line  laid  down  along  the  sea.  ...  A 
line  of  blue." 

She  said  nothing  in  reply  to  this ;  and  he  said  no  more. 
They  were  thus  silent  for  a  little  before  Faith  asked: 
"  Tell  me.  .  .  .  You've  never  had  a  chance.  .  .  .  How 
did  you  live,  there?  Wasn't  it  lonely?  Or  ...  were 
there  others?  .  .  ." 

He  laughed.  "  I  wasn't  lonely,  in  the  least,"  he  ex- 
plained. "  The  old  devil-devil  doctor  of  the  village  struck 
up  an  acquaintance  with  me.  .  .  .  He  knew  whites ;  and  I 
was  the  only  one  there  at  the  time.  He  used  to  come  and 
talk  to  me,  and  say  charms  over  my  garden.  ...  I  had  a 
little  compass  on  my  watch  chain,  and  I  gave  it  to  him,  and 
the  old  heathen  was  my  slave  for  life.  So  I  arranged  with 
him  to  have  my  path  taboo  —  you  remember  I  told  you. 
.  .  .  And  he  was  the  only  company  I  ever  had." 

"  You  had  a  —  garden  ?  " 

"  Yes.  Good  one.  I  put  up  a  house,  about  six  feet 
square  —  big  enough  for  me,  and  no  more  —  and  I 
trimmed  down  some  trees  around  there;  and  there  was  a 
little  brook,  and  a  shallow  basin  in  the  side  of  the  hill 
where  rich  soil  had  been  collecting  for  a  good  many  cen- 
turies, I  suppose.  I  think  if  I  had  planted  pebbles  there, 
it  would  have  grown  bowlders  for  me.  It  did  grow  all  I 
wanted." 

She  was  thoughtful  for  a  little,  looked  at  him  once. 
"  Why  did  you  ever  ship  as  a  whaler  ?  "  she  asked.  "  You 
don't  look  like  the  men  that  ship  in-  the  fo'c's'le." 

He  laughed.     "I  know  it.     Maybe  because  I  like  the 


158  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

sea.  My  home  was  in  sight  of  it ;  a  high  old  farm  up  in 
Maine,  five  miles  inland.  I  used  to  sit  out  on  the  hill  there 
and  watch  the  night  come  up  from  the  east  and  blanket 
the  water;  and  when  there  was  a  surf  I  could  hear  it;  and 
when  I  could,  I  went  down  and  got  acquainted  with  the 
water,  swimming,  or  poking  around  in  an  old  dory.  .  .  . 
It  was  bound  to  get  me  in  the  end.  My  father  sent  me  to 
school.  .  .  .  He  wanted  me  to  be  a  doctor.  But  after 
two  years  of  it,  I  begged  off.  .  .  .  And  he  let  me  go." 

She  nodded.  "  I  know  —  a  little  —  how  you  feel.  I've 
always  loved  the  smell  of  the  sea  at  home,  and  the  sight 
of  it.  ...  But.  .  .  ."  She  grimaced  harshly.  "  I'm 
getting  a  bit  tired  of  salt  water,  all  the  time.  ...  I 
want  to  get  ashore." 

"  Sure,"  Brander  chuckled.  "  And  when  you've  been 
a  month  ashore,  you'll  be  hungry  for  the  sea  again.  It's 
like  a  drug;  you  get  used  to  it,  and  you  can't  do  with- 
out it." 

She  looked  at  him.     "  Do  you  think  so?  " 

"  I  know  it.     Wait  and  see." 

After  a  little,  she  spoke  of  the  ill  luck  that  had  pursued 
the  Sally.  "  Isn't  it  unusual  to  go  almost  six  weeks  with- 
out getting  a  whale?  " 

"No,  not  necessarily,"  he  told  her.  "You  may  kill 
every  other  day  for  a  year,  and  not  see  a  fish  for  three 
months  after.  The  whale  seems  to  come  and  go,  in  some 
waters.  .  .  ." 

"These?  "she  asked. 

He  nodded.  "  It's  uncertain,  here.  We're  working 
over  now  into  better  hunting  grounds.  The  Sally's  done 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  159 

well,  thus  far,  anyway.  Almost  a  thousand  barrels,  and 
not  out  a  year.  I've  heard  of  ships  that  came  home  with 
empty  casks." 

She  looked  at  him  curiously.  "  I  think  you  know  more 
about  the  work  than  most  men  aboard,"  she  said.  "  Yet 
you've  not  had  the  experience.  .  .  ." 

"  I've  picked  it  up  at  games,  read  it,  guessed  it,"  he 
said  pleasantly.  "  They  know  more  about  the  practical 
end  than  I.  I  haven't  been  tried  out  yet,  you  know." 

She  smiled.  "  Mr.  Tichel  says  you're  a  Jonah,"  she 
told  him.  "  I  think  he  would  be  in  favor  of  throwing  you 
overboard." 

He  laughed  cheerfully.  She  added :  "  I  hope  you're 
not  one.  I'm  anxious  that  Cap'n  Wing  should  make  a  big 
record  on  this  cruise.  It's  my  first  with  him,  you 
know.  .  .  ." 

His  eyes  were  sober ;  but  he  said :  "  We'll  fill  the  casks, 
all  right.  I  wouldn't  worry." 

She  looked  toward  him  and  said :  "  Yes,  we  will." 
There  was  an  immense  amount  of  quiet  certainty  and 
determination  in  her  voice.  Brander  looked  at  her  for 
an  instant,  then  turned  to  give  some  direction  to  the 
man  at  the  wheel.  The  Sally  heeled  awkwardly  to 
the  thrust  of  the  wind,  and  battered  at  the  sea  with  her 
blunt  bows.  The  rigging  creaked  and  tugged.  Willis 
Cox,  under  the  boathouse,  had  dropped  his  book  in  his 
lap  and  was  dozing  in  his  chair;  the  two  harpooners  had 
gone  below.  Forward,  Faith  could  see  two  or  three  men 
sprawled  on  the  deck,  asleep.  .  .  .  The  warm,  afternoon 
wind  seemed  slumber  laden ;  the  Sally  Sims  herself  was  like 


160  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

a  ship  that  walked  in  her  sleep.  A  hush  hung  over  them 
all,  so  that  Faith  and  Brander  unconsciously  lowered  their 
voices. 

Faith  asked  casually :  "  Why  is  it  that  you  and  Mr. 
Tobey  do  not  like  each  other?  " 

If  he  was  surprised  at  the  question,  Brander  did  not 
show  it.  He  said  frankly :  "  I've  no  dislike  for  Mr. 
Tobey.  He's  an  able  officer.  He  knows  his  business." 

"  He  does  not  like  you,"  Faith  said.     "  Why  not?  " 

Brander  smiled.  "  It  may  be,"  he  admitted,  "  that  Mr. 
Tobey  is  lacking  in  a  sense  of  humor.  I've  a  way  of 
laughing  at  things.  .  .  .  Mr.  Trant,  on  the  Thomas  Mor- 
gan, used  to  curse  me  for  grinning  so  much  of  the  time. 
Perhaps  Mr.  Tobey  .  .  ." 

He  did  not  finish  the  sentence ;  he  seemed  to  consider  it 
unnecessary,  or  unwise.  .  .  .  Faith  said  nothing.  .  .  . 
They  stood  together,  eyes  off  across  the  water,  balancing 
unconsciously  to  the  motion  of  the  ship.  Their  shoulders 
were  almost  brushing.  .  .  .  Brander  felt  the  light  contact 
on  his  coat;  and  he  moved  away  a  little,  inconspicu- 
ously. .  .  . 

She  turned  at  last  toward  the  companion ;  but  after  one 
step,  stopped  and  looked  back  at  him.  "  I  think,"  she 
said,  "  that  Mr.  Tobey  believes  you  mean  to  claim  that 
find  of  ambergris  belongs  to  you." 

Brander  smiled,  and  nodded.  "  I  know  he  does. 
There's  no  harm  in  puzzling  Mr.  Tobey." 

'  There  may  be  harm  —  for  you  —  in  his  believing 
that,"  she  said;  and  for  a  moment  Brander's  level  eyes 
met  hers,  and  she  saw  a  flame  in  his.  He  said  quietly : 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  161 

"  I'm  not  particularly  concerned.  .  .  ." 
She  bowed  her  head,  to  hide  her  eyes ;  and  she  went  below 
so  quickly  it  was  as  though  she  fled  from  him. 


XVII 

FAITH  had  assured  herself,  from  the  beginning, 
that  Brander  had  no  real  intention  of  claiming 
the  ambergris  was  his  personal  booty.     He  was 
too  sensible  for  that,  she  felt ;  and  he  was  not  greedy.  .   .  . 
She  had  been  sure ;  but  like  all  women,  she  wished  to  be 
reassured.     She  had  given  Brander  the  chance  to  reassure 
her,  speaking  of  the  'gris  and  of  Dan'l  Tobey's  suspicions 
in  the  matter.     It  would  have  been  so  easy  for  Brander  to 
laugh  and  say :     "  You  know  I  have  no  such  idea.     It 
belongs  to  the  Satty,  of  course.  .  .  ."     That  would  have 
settled  the  thing,  once  and  for  all.  .  .  . 

But  Brander  had  not  been  frank  and  forthright.  He 
had  only  said :  "  There's  no  harm  in  puzzling  Mr. 
Tobey.  .  .  ."  And  when  she  had  suggested  that  there 
might  be  harm  for  Brander  in  his  attitude,  his  eyes  had 
hardened  with  something  like  defiance  in  them.  .  .  .  He 
had  said  he  was  not  worried  as  to  what  Dan'l  might  think 
or  do.  He  thus  remained  as  much  of  a  puzzle  to  Faith 
as  ever.  ...  If  he  had  deliberately  planned  to  steal  a 
place  in  her  thoughts,  he  could  have  taken  no  better  means. 
Faith,  with  her  growing  sense  of  responsibility  for  the 
Sally,  for  the  success  of  the  voyage,  for  the  good  renown 
of  Noll  Wing,  was  acutely  concerned  when  anything 
threatened  that  success.  The  ambergris  was  properly  a 

162 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  163 

part  of  the  Sally's  takings.  .  .  .  Brander  must  see  it  so. 
Did  he  mean  to  push  his  claim,  to  make  trouble?  .  .  . 

She  tried  to  find  her  answer  to  this  question  in  Brander's 
face;  she  began  to  study  him  daily.  .  .  .  She  perceived 
the  strength  of  the  man,  and  his  poise  and  assurance. 
Brander  was  very  sure  of  himself  and  of  his  capabilities, 
without  in  the  least  overrating  them.  He  knew  himself 
for  a  man ;  he  bore  himself  as  a  man.  .  .  .  Faith  respected 
him ;  without  her  realizing  it,  this  respect  and  liking  grew. 

Unconsciously,  Brander  was  ranked  now  and  then  in  her 
thoughts  beside  her  husband,  Noll  Wing;  she  compared  the 
two  men  without  willing  to  make  the  comparison.  And 
in  the  process,  she  studied  Noll  Wing  more  closely  than 
she  had  ever  studied  him  before.  It  was  at  this  time  that 
she  first  marked  the  fact  that  Noll  was  shrinking,  wasting 
the  flesh  from  his  bones.  His  skin  was  becoming  loose ;  it 
sagged.  His  great  chest  was  drawing  in  between  his  shoul- 
ders ;  his  shoulders  slumped  forward.  Also  Faith  saw, 
without  understanding,  that  the  great  cords  of  his  neck 
were  beginning  to  stand  out  under  the  loose  skin,  that 
hollows  were  forming  about  them.  The  man's  bull  neck 
was  melting  away.  .  .  .  Faith  saw,  though  she  did  not 
fully  understand;  she  knew  that  Noll  was  aging,  nothing 
more.  .  .  . 

She  was  drawn  to  Noll,  at  this  discovery,  by  a  vast  ten- 
derness ;  but  this  tenderness  was  impersonal.  She  thought 
it  a  recrudescence  of  her  old,  strong  love  for  the  man;  it 
was  in  fact  only  such  a  feeling  as  she  might  have  had  for  a 
sick  or  wounded  beast.  She  pitied  Noll  profoundly;  she 
tried  to  make  him  happy,  and  comfortable.  She  sought, 


164  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

now  and  then,  to  woo  him  to  cheerfulness  and  mirth;  but 
Noll  was  shrinking,  day  by  day,  into  a  more  confirmed 
habit  of  complaint ;  he  whined  constantly,  where  in  the  old 
days  he  would  have  stormed  and  commanded.  And  he 
resented  Faith's  attentions,  resented  her  very  presence 
about  him.  One  day  she  went  herself  into  the  galley  and 
prepared  a  dish  she  thought  would  please  him;  when  she 
told  him  what  she  had  done,  he  exclaimed: 

"  God's  sake,  Faith,  quit  fussing  over  me.  I  got  along 
more'n  twenty  year  without  a  woman.  .  .  ." 

Faith  would  not  let  herself  feel  the  hurt  of  this.  .  .  . 
But  even  while  she  watched  over  Noll,  Brander  more  and 
more  possessed  her  thoughts.  Her  recognition  of  this 
fact  led  her  to  be  the  more  attentive  to  Noll,  as  though  to 
recompense  him  for  the  thing  he  was  losing.  .  .  .  She  had 
never  so  poured  out  herself  upon  him. 

It  was  inevitable  that  this  developing  change  in  Faith 
should  be  marked  by  those  in  the  cabin.  Dan'l  saw  it, 
and  Brander  saw  it.  ...  Brander  saw  it,  and  at  first  his 
pulse  leaped  and  pounded  and  his  eyes  shone  with  his 
thoughts.  .  .  .  On  deck,  about  his  duties,  he  carried  the 
memory  of  her  eyes  always  with  him.  Her  eyes  as  she 
had  looked  at  him,  that  day,  and  many  days  before. 
Questioning,  a  little  wistful.  ...  A  little  wondering.  .  .  . 

But  Brander  was  a  strong  man ;  and  he  put  a  grip  upon 
himself.  He  was  drawn  to  Faith;  he  knew  that  if  he  let 
himself  go,  he  would  be  caught  in  a  whirlwind  of  passion 
for  her.  But  he  did  not  choose  to  let  himself  go ;  and  by 
the  same  token,  he  took  care  to  have  no  part  in  what 
might  be  taking  place  in  Faith  herself.  He  knew  that  he 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  165 

might  have  played  upon  her  awakened  interest  in  him ;  he 
knew  that  it  would  be  worth  life  itself  to  see  more  plainly 
that  which  he  had  glimpsed  in  her  eyes ;  nevertheless,  he 
put  the  thing  away  from  him.  When  she  was  about,  he 
became  reticent,  curt,  abrupt.  .  .  .  He  took  refuge  in  an 
arrogance  of  tone,  an  absorption  in  his  work.  He  began 
to  drive  his  men.  .  .  . 

Dan'l  Tobey  saw.  Dan'l  had  eyes  to  see;  and  it  was 
inevitable  that  he  should  discover  the  first  hints  of  change 
in  Faith.  For  he  watched  her  jealously;  and  he  watched 
Brander  as  he  had  watched  him  from  the  beginning. 
Dan'l  saw  Faith  and  Brander  drawing  together,  day  by 
day ;  and  though  he  hated  Brander  the  more  for  it,  he  was 
content  to  sit  still  and  wait.  .  .  .  He  counted  upon  their 
working  Brander's  own  destruction  between  them,  in  the 
end ;  and  Dan'l  was  in  a  destructive  mood  in  those  days. 
He  hated  the  strength  of  Brander,  the  loyalty  of  Faith, 
the  age  of  old  Noll  Wing,  and  the  youth  of  Roy.  .  .  .  He 
was  become,  through  overmuch  brooding,  a  walking  vessel 
of  hate;  it  spilled  out  of  him  with  every  word,  keep  his 
voice  as  amiable  as  he  might.  He  hated  them  all.  .  .  . 

But  he  was  careful  to  hide  his  resentment  against 
Roy;  he  cultivated  the  boy,  he  worked  little  by  little  to 
debase  Roy's  standards  of  life,  and  he  looked  forward 
vaguely  to  a  day  when  he  might  have  use  for  the  lad. 
Dan'l  had  no  definite  plan  at  this  time  save  to  destroy. 
.  .  .  But  for  all  his  absorption  in  Faith,  he  had  not 
failed  to  see  that  Noll  Wing's  strength  was  going  out  of 
him.  If  Noll  were  to  die,  Dan'l  would  be  master  of  the 
Sally  and  those  aboard  her.  .  .  . 


166  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

Dan'l  never  lost  sight  of  this  possibility ;  he  kept  it  well 
in  mind ;  and  he  laid,  little  by  little,  the  foundations  upon 
which  in  that  day  he  might  build  his  strength.  Roy  was 
one  of  these  foundations.  .  .  . 

Dan'l  saw  one  obstacle  in  his  path,  even  with  Noll  gone. 
The  men  forward,  and  some  of  the  under  officers,  were 
hotly  loyal  to  Noll  Wing;  and  by  the  same  token  they 
looked  upon  Faith  with  eyes  of  awed  affection.  Faith  had 
that  in  her  which  commanded  the  respect  of  men ;  and 
Dan'l  knew  that  the  roughest  man  in  the  crew  would  fight 
to  protect  Faith,  against  himself  or  any  other.  He  never 
forgot  this.  ... 

When  Roy  Kilcup,  last  of  them  all,  marked  Faith's 
interest  in  Brander,  the  boy  unwittingly  gave  Dan'l  a 
chance  to  strike  a  blow  at  the  men's  trust  in  the  captain's 
wife. 

Roy,  though  he  might  quarrel  with  her  most  desper- 
ately, was  at  his  heart  devoted  to  Faith,  and  wild  with  his 
pride  in  her.  He  marked  a  look  in  her  eyes  one  day ;  and 
it  disturbed  him.  Dan'l  found  the  boy  on  deck,  staring 
out  across  the  water,  his  eyes  clouded  with  perplexity  and 
doubt.  Roy  was  aft;  there  was  one  of  the  men  at  the 
wheel.  Dan'l  glanced  toward  this  man.  .  .  .  One  of  his 
own  boat  crew,  by  name  Slatter,  with  a  sly  eye  and  a 
black  tongue.  .  .  .  Dan'l  spoke  to  him  in  passing,  some 
command  to  keep  the  Sally  steady  against  the  pressure  of 
the  wind,  and  stopped  beside  Roy,  dropping  his  hand  on 
the  boy's  shoulder. 

"  Hello,  Roy,"  he  said  amiably. 

Roy  looked  up  at  him,  nodded.     Dan'l  caught  a  glimpse 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  167 

of  the  shadow  in  his  eyes  and  asked  in  a  friendly  tone: 
"  What's  wrong?  You're  worried  about  something.  .  .  ." 

Roy  shook  his  head.     "  No." 

Dan'l  laughed.  "  Shucks !  You  can't  fool  any  one 
with  that,  Roy.  If  you  don't  want  to  talk.  .  .  ." 

Roy  hesitated ;  he  studied  Dan'l  for  a  moment. 
"  Dan'l,"  he  said,  "  you've  known  Faith  and  me  all  our 
lives.  I  guess  I  can  talk  to  you  if  I  can  to  anybody. 
And  I've  got  to  talk  to  somebody,  Dan'l." 

Dan'l  nodded  soberly.  "  I'm  here  to  be  talked  to. 
What's  the  matter,  Roy?  " 

The  boy  asked  abruptly :  "  Dan'l  —  have  you  noticed 
the  way  Faith  looks  at  Brander?  " 

Dan'l  had  been  half  prepared  for  the  question;  never- 
theless his  fingers  dug  into  his  palms.  He  remained  silent 
for  a  minute,  thinking.  .  .  .  His  thoughts  raced.  .  .  .  And 
his  eyes  fell  on  foul-tongued  Slatter,  at  the  wheel.  .  .  . 
There  was  a  piece  of  luck ;  an  instrument  ready  to  his  hand. 
Dan'l  still  hesitated  for  a  space;  his  brows  twisting.  .  .  . 
Then  the  man  threw  all  decency  behind  him,  and  flung  him- 
self at  last  into  the  paths  toward  which  his  feet  had  been 
tending.  He  moved  to  one  side,  so  that  Roy,  facing  him, 
must  also  face  the  man  at  the  wheel ;  so  that  Roy's  words 
would  come  to  Slatter's  ears.  And  Dan'l  was  very  sure 
that  Slatter  would  take  care  to  hear.  .  .  . 

For  another  moment  he  did  not  speak ;  then  he  laughed 
harshly ;  and  he  asked :  "  What  do  you  mean,  Roy  ?  " 

Roy  repeated :  "  I  mean  the  way  Faith  looks  at 
Brander  all  the  time.  Looking  at  him.  ...  A  queer 
way.  .  .  ." 


163  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

Dan'l  Tobey  seemed  to  be  embarrassed;  he  looked  to 
right  and  left,  and  he  said  huskily :  "  Shucks  —  I  guess 
you've  got  too  much  imagination,  Roy." 

Roy  shook  his  head.  "  No,  I  haven't,  either.  I've  been 
watching  her.  .  .  .  She  looks  at  him,  and  her  eyes  get 
kind  of  misty  like.  .  .  .  And  if  you  say  something  to  her, 
sometimes  she  doesn't  hear  you  at  all." 

"  She's  got  a  right  to  think,"  Dan'l  chuckled.  "  You 
talk  too  much,  anyway,  Roy.  .  .  .  No  wonder  she  don't 
listen  to  you."  His  tone  was  good-natured.  Roy  fell 
silent  for  a  moment,  studying  Dan'l's  face;  and  Dan'l 
looked  confused.  Roy  said  sharply: 

"  Dan'l,  haven't  you  seen,  yourself,  what  I  mean  ? 
Haven't  you,  Dan'l?  " 

Dan'l  turned  his  head  away;  he  would  not  meet  Roy's 
eyes.  Roy  cried :  "  I  knew  you  saw  it.  ...  Everybody 
must  see.  .  .  ." 

Dan'l  said  sternly :  "  Roy,  you'd  best  not  see  too 
much.  It  don't  pay.  There's  times  when  it's  wise  to  see 
little  and  say  nothing.  If  it  was  me,  I'd  say  this  was  one 
of  the  times." 

"  That's  all  right,"  Roy  admitted.  "  But  I  can  talk  to 
you.  .  .  ."  He  added  suddenly:  "  Dar.'l,  Noll  Wing  is 
too  old  for  Faith.  She  ought  to  have  married  you, 
Dan'l." 

Children  have  a  disconcerting  way  of  sticking  a  word 
like  a  knife  into  our  secret  hearts;  they  see  so  clearly, 
and  they  have  not  yet  learned  to  pretend  they  do  not  see. 
Roy,  for  all  his  eighteen  years,  was  still  as  much  child  as 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  169 

man ;  and  Dan'l  winced.  "  Land,  Roy,"  he  protested. 
"  Get  that  out  of  jour  head.  Faith  and  me  under- 
stand. .  .  ." 

Roy  turned  his  back,  looking  aft.  Dan'l  glanced  to- 
ward Slatter  at  the  wheel.  Slatter's  back  was  toward 
them ;  but  Dan'l  could  have  sworn  the  man's  ears  were 
visibly  pricking  to  miss  no  word.  And  Dan'l's  eyes  burned 
unpleasantly.  A  woman's  strongest  armor  is  her  inno- 
cence. If  Faith  were  tarnished  in  the  eyes  of  the  men  in 
the  fo'c's'le,  she  would  have  few  defenders  there.  .  .  .  The 
roughest  man  will  honor  a  good  woman ;  but  he  looks  upon 
one  who  is  soiled  with  contemptuous  or  greedy  eyes. 
Dan'l  was  willing,  for  his  own  ends,  that  the  fo'c's'le  should 
think  evil  of  Faith  Wing. 

While  they  stood  thus,  Brander  came  on  deck,  and  spoke 
for  a  minute  with  Dan'l,  then  went  slowly  forward.  Be- 
cause he  and  Dan'l  clashed  so  sharply,  Brander  had  fallen 
into  the  way  of  spending  much  time  amidships  with  the 
harpooners,  or  forward  with  the  crew.  .  .  .  Dan'l's  place 
was  aft.  .  .  .  Roy  watched  Brander  now  as  he  spoke  to 
the  mate,  watched  him  walk  away.  When  Brander  was 
gone,  Dan'l  looked  toward  Roy.  Roy  said  quietly : 

"  Dan'l,  if  Brander  tries  to  —  to  do  anything  to  my 
sister,  I'm  going  to  kill  him." 

Dan'l  said  nothing;  and  Roy  moved  abruptly  past  him 
and  went  below.  .  .  . 

He  was  not  seeking  Faith ;  but  he  came  upon  her  there, 
in  the  main  cabin.  She  was  at  the  table,  with  a  book,  and 
paper  and  pen ;  and  he  stopped  to  look  over  her  shoulder, 


170  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

and  saw  that  she  was  making  calculations.  .  .  .  Latitude 
and  longitude.  .  .  .  He  asked:  "  What  are  you  doing?  " 

She  looked  up  at  him.  "  Studying  navigation,  Roy. 
Don't  you  want  to  ?  " 

He  stared  at  her.     "  What  are  you  doing  it  for?  " 

"  Because  I  want  to.  Besides.  .  .  .  It's  a  good  thing 
to  be  able  to  find  out  where  you  are,  on  a  world  as  big  as 
this.  .  .  .  Don't  you  think?  " 

He  flung  himself  into  a  chair  across  from  her.  "  Look 
here,  Faith.  .  .  .  Why  do  you  keep  looking  at  Brander? 
All  the  time?" 

Faith  was  startled ;  she  was  startled  not  so  much  at  what 
Roy  said,  as  at  what  his  words  revealed  to  her.  Neverthe- 
less her  voice  was  steady  and  quiet  as  she  asked :  "  What 
do  you  mean,  Roy  ?  " 

"  The  way  you  look  at  Brander.  He's  not  fit  for  you  to 
talk  to.  ...  To  look  at.  ...  Anything.  He's  not  fit 
to  be  around  you.  .  .  ." 

She  laughed  at  him.  "  How  do  I  look  at  Mr.  Brander, 
Roy?  "  she  asked. 

"Why  —  like  .  .  ."  Roy  groped  for  words;  Faith 
was  suddenly  afraid  of  what  he  might  say.  She  inter- 
rupted him. 

"Don't  be  silly,  Roy.  Go  away.  .  .  .  Don't  bother 
me.  .  .  .  I'm  busy  with  this,  Roy." 

He  said :  "  You  .  .  ."  But  she  bent  over  her  book ; 
she  paid  him  no  attention  for  a  moment.  Roy,  sitting  op- 
posite, studied  the  top  of  her  head,  and  thought.  .  .  . 
There  was  an  expression  in  his  eyes  as  though  he  were 
trying  to  remember  something  familiar  that  evaded  him. 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  171 

In  the  silence,  they  could  hear  Cap'n  Wing  snoring  in  his 
cabin ;  they  could  hear  old  Tichel  stir  in  his  bunk  at  the 
other  side  of  the  ship ;  they  could  hear  the  muffled  murmur 
of  the  voices  of  the  harpooners,  in  the  steerage.  And  all 
about  them  the  timbers  that  were  the  fabric  of  the  Sally 
creaked  and  groaned  as  they  yielded  to  the  tug  of  the 
seas.  Roy  still  stared  with  a  puzzled  frown  at  the  top  of 
Faith's  brown  head.  .  .  .  Faith  did  not  look  up  from 
her  book.  .  .  . 

Suddenly  Roy  cried,  in  a  low  voice :  "  Faith !  I 
know.  .  .  ."  And,  all  in  a  burst:  "You  look  at  Bran- 
der  just  like  you  used  to  look  at  Noll  Wing  when  we  were 
kids.  .  .  ." 

Faith  went  white;  and  she  rose  to  her  feet  so  swiftly 
that  the  book  was  overturned  on  the  table,  the  loose  sheets 
of  paper  fluttered,  the  pen  rolled  across  to  the  edge  of  the 
table  and  fell  and  stuck  on  its  point  in  the  cabin  floor.  .  .  . 

With  a  motion  swift  as  light,  forgetting  book  and  paper 
and  pen,  Faith  slipped  across,  into  the  after  cabin.  She 
shut  the  door  in  Roy's  face,  and  he  heard  her  slip  the  catch 
upon  it. 

Roy  stared  at  the  closed  door ;  then  he  went  abstractedly 
around  the  table  and  pulled  the  pen  loose  from  the  floor. 
The  steel  point  was  twisted,  spoiled. 


XVIII 

THE  Sally  came,  abruptly,  into  a  sea  that  was  full 
of  whales.  At  nightfall  they  had  not  smelled  oil 
for  weeks ;  at  dawn  there  were  spouts  on  three 
quarters  of  the  horizon ;  and  thereafter  for  more  than  a 
month  there  were  never  three  successive  days  when  they 
did  not  sight  whales. 

This  turn  of  the  luck  brought  three  things  to  pass: 
Roy  Kilcup  had  his  first  chance  in  the  boats  during  the 
chase ;  Brander  killed  his  first  whale  as  an  officer  of  the 
Sally;  and  Noll  Wing  killed  the  last  cachalot  that  was 
ever  to  feel  his  lance. 

Dan'l  Tobey  had  promised  Roy,  at  the  time  when 
Brander  was  promoted  to  be  mate,  that  he  would  give  the 
boy  a  chance  in  his  boat.  He  put  Roy  on  the  after  thwart, 
under  his  own  eye,  and  Roy  leaned  to  the  oar  and  pulled 
with  all  his  might,  and  bit  his  lip  to  hold  back  the  sobbing 
of  his  breath.  The  boy  came  of  whaling  stock ;  his  father 
and  his  father's  father  had  been  men  of  the  sea.  And  he 
did  not  turn  white  when  the  boat's  bow  slid  at  last  along- 
side a  slumbering  black  mass,  and  the  keen  harpoons 
chocked  home. 

That  first  experience  of  Roy's  was  a  mild  one.  The 
whale,  a  fairish  bull,  showed  no  fight  whatever.  He  took 
the  irons  as  a  baby  takes  soothing  sirup;  and  he  lay 
still  while  they  pulled  alongside  and  prodded  him  with  a 

172 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  173 

lance.  At  the  last,  when  his  spout  was  a  crimson  fountain, 
he  gave  one  gigantic  forward  leap;  but  he  was  dead  not 
ten  fathoms  from  the  spot  where  he  lay  when  the  first  har- 
poon went  home ;  and  thereafter  there  was  only  the  long 
toil  of  towing  the  monster  back  to  the  ship  for  the  cut- 
ting in. 

A  small  affair,  without  excitement ;  yet  big  for  Roy. 
It  worked  a  change  in  the  boy.  He  came  back  to  the 
ship  no  longer  a  boy,  but  the  makings  of  a  man.  He 
spoke  loftily  to  Faith ;  and  he  brushed  shoulders  with  the 
men  on  equal  terms  and  was  proud  to  do  so,  altogether  for- 
getting the  days  when  he  had  liked  to  think  himself  their 
superior,  and  to  order  them  around.  Dan'l  catered  to  the 
new  mood  in  the  boy  ;  he  told  Cap'n  Wing  in  Roy's  hearing 
that  the  youngster  would  make  a  whaleman.  .  .  .  That  he 
had  never  seen  any  one  so  cool  at  the  striking  of  his  first 
Whale.  .  .  .  Roy  swelled  visibly. 

Brander's  initiation  as  an  officer  of  the  Sally  came  at  the 
same  time ;  and  a  bit  of  luck  made  it  possible  for  the  fourth 
mate  to  prove  his  metal.  When  they  sighted  spouts  in 
three  quarters,  that  morning,  the  mate  had  chosen  to  go 
after  a  lone  bull;  old  Tichel  and  Brander  attacked  a  small 
pod  to  the  eastward ;  and  Willis  Cox  went  north  to  try  for 
a  fish  there. 

Brander  gave  Tichel  right  of  way,  since  the  old  man  was 
his  superior  officer;  and  they  came  upon  the  pod  with  a 
matter  of  seconds  to  choose  between  them.  The  whales 
Were  disappointingly  small;  nevertheless  Tichel  attacked 
the  largest,  and  Brander  took  the  one  that  fell  to  him. 
His  irons  went  home  a  moment  after  Tichel's ;  his  whale 


174  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

leaped  into  the  first  blind  struggle,  not  fleeing,  but  fighting 
to  shake  off  the  iron. 

Now  it  is  customary,  among  whalemen,  to  wait  till  this 
first  flurry  has  passed,  to  allow  the  whale  to  run  out  his 
own  strength,  and  then  to  pull  in  for  the  finishing  stroke. 
But  Brander  was  ambitious ;  the  whale  was  small.  .  .  .  He 
changed  places  with  Loum,  and  shouted  orders  to  his  men 
to  haul  in  the  loose  coils  of  line  that  had  been  thrown  over 
with  the  irons.  The  whale  was  circling,  rolling,  striking 
with  its  flukes ;  it  had  not  seen  them,  gave  them  no  heed, 
but  the  very  blindness  of  its  struggles  made  them  a  greater 
menace. 

They  drew  in  on  the  whale ;  and  Loum  at  the  steering  oar 
swung  Brander  against  the  monster's  flank.  Brander  got 
home  his  lance  in  three  thrusts  before  they  were  forced  to 
draw  clear  to  avoid  the  whale's  renewed  struggles.  But 
those  three  were  enough ;  the  spout  crimsoned ;  he  loosed 
and  backed  away  from  the  final  flurry,  and  the  whale  was 
dead  ten  minutes  from  the  time  when  the  first  iron  went 
home. 

That  was  exploit  enough  to  prove  Brander's  ability ;  his 
quick  kill  marked  him  as  a  man  who  knew  his  job.  He 
could  have  afforded  to  be  content ;  but  when  his  whale  was 
fin  out,  and  he  looked  around,  he  was  in  time  to  see  trouble 
come  upon  James  Tichel. 

The  whale  Tichel  struck  had  sounded;  and  just  after 
Brander  killed,  it  breached  before  his  eyes,  under  the  very 
bows  of  Tichel's  boat.  Brander  saw  the  black  column  of 
its  body  rise  up  and  up  from  the  sea ;  it  seemed  to  ascend 
endlessly.  .  .  .  Then  toppled,  and  slowly  fell,  and  struck 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  175 

the  water  so  resoundingly  that  for  a  moment  the  whale 
and  Tichel's  boat  were  hidden  alike.  Tichel  was  dodging 
desperately  to  get  clear ;  but  the  wallowing  whale  rolled 
toward  him,  over  him,  smothering  his  craft.  .  .  .  Bran- 
der,  when  the  tossing  and  tormented  water  quieted,  saw  the 
bobbing  heads  of  the  men,  and  the  boat  just  awash,  and  the 
gear  floating  all  around.  .  .  . 

The  whale  showed  no  immediate  disposition  to  run;  it 
was  rolling  in  a  frenzy,  bending  double  as  though  to  tear 
at  its  own  wounds.  .  .  .  Brander  stuck  a  marking  waif  in 
his  own  whale,  drove  his  men  to  their  oars,  cut  across  to 
see  that  Tichel  and  the  others  were  kept  afloat  by  the  boatr 
and  then  managed  to  pick  up  one  of  the  floating  tubs  of 
line,  to  which  the  whale  was  still  attached.  The  rest  was 
easy  enough ;  the  whale  fought  its  strength  away,  and 
Brander  made  his  kill. 

Willis  Cox  had  failed  to  get  fast ;  the  whales  he  sought 
to  attack  took  fright  as  he  approached  them,  and  his 
game  got  away  with  a  white  slash  across  the  blubber  where 
Long  Jim's  desperate  cast  of  the  harpoon  had  gone  wild. 
So  Willis  rowed  to  join  Brander,  and  picked  up  Tichel  and 
his  men,  and  took  their  boat  and  Tichel's  whale  which 
Brander  had  killed,  in  tow.  Brander  took  the  other ;  they 
worked  back  to  the  Sally.  When  they  got  back  to  the 
ship,  Noll  Wing  clapped  Brander  on  the  shoulder  and  ap- 
plauded him.  The  excitement  of  the  sudden  chase,  after 
the  weeks  of  idling,  had  put  life  into  Noll.  His  cheeks 
were  flushed ;  his  eyes  were  shining;  he  had  the  look  of  his 
old  self  once  more.  .  .  . 

Two  whales  at  a  time  is  as  much  as  any  whaler  cares  to 


176  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

handle;  the  Sally  had  three.  A  blow  of  any  violence 
would  have  made  it  impossible  for  them  to  cut  in  even  one 
of  the  carcasses  before  the  steady  heat  of  the  southern  seas 
rendered  them  unfit ;  but  no  squall  came.  The  luck  of  the 
Sally  had  turned,  and  turned  in  earnest.  The  men  wel- 
comed the  hard  work  after  their  long  idleness ;  they  toiled 
at  the  windlass  and  the  gangway  with  the  heartiest  will. 
They  raised  chants  as  they  walked  the  blanket  pieces  up 
to  the  main  head  or  slacked  them  down  the  deck  to  be  cut 
and  stowed  in  the  blubber  room  below  the  main  hatch.  The 
intoxication  of  the  toil  took  possession  of  them ;  they  went 
at  it  singing  and  exultant  and  afire ;  and  even  Noll  caught 
the  spirit  of  the  day  from  them.  Youth  flooded  back  into 
the  man ;  his  shoulders  straightened ;  his  chest  seemed  to 
swell  before  their  eyes.  Faith,  watching  him,  thought  he 
was  like  the  man  she  had  loved.  .  .  .  She  was,  for  a  time, 
very  happy.  .  .  . 

The  fever  of  it  got  into  Noll's  blood;  and  when  they 
killed  another  whale  the  third  day  after,  he  swore  that  at 
the  next  chance  he  would  himself  lower  for  the  chase.  He 
fed  on  the  thought.  .  .  .  Faith,  fearful  for  him,  ventured 
to  protest ;  her  first  thought  was  ever  that  on  Noll's  safety 
depended  the  safety  of  the  Sally,  that  Noll's  first  duty  was 
to  bring  the  Sally  Sims  safely  home  again.  She  told  Noll 
this ;  told  him  his  place  was  with  the  ship. 

'  The  Sally  is  your  charge,"  she  said.  "  You  ought  not 
to  risk  yourself.  .  .  .  Take  chances.  .  .  ." 

He  laughed  at  her  tempestuously.  "  By  God,"  he  cried, 
"  I  was  never  a  man  to  send  men  where  I  was  afeared  to  go. 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  177 

So  let  be,  Faith.  You  coddle  me  like  a  child ;  and  I  am  not 
a  child  at  all.  Let  be." 

Faith  surrendered  helplessly;  but  she  hoped  he  would 
forget,  would  not  keep  his  word.  He  might  have  forgot- 
ten as  she  hoped ;  he  was  sinking  back  into  his  old  lassitude 
when  the  masthead  men  sighted  the  next  whale ;  but  Dan'l 
sought  Noll  out  and  said  anxiously : 

"  Best  think  better  of  it,  sir.  This  looks  like  a  big 
whale  ;  a  hard  customer." 

Noll  had  so  nearly  forgotten  that  he  asked :  "  Think 
better  of  what,  man  ?  " 

Dan'l  smiled,  as  though  he  were  pleased.  "  I  thought 
you  meant  to  lower,"  he  said.  "  You  do  well  to  change 
your  mind.  Stay  aboard  here ;  leave  us  to  handle  him." 

Which  was  like  a  goad  to  Noll,  as  Dan'l  must  have 
known  it  would  be.  The  captain  la-ughed  angrily,  and 
thrust  Dan'l  aside,  and  took  the  mate's  own  boat  with  Roy 
on  the  after  thwart,  and  lowered.  Faith  was  anxious ;  she 
found  chance  to  say  to  Brander,  as  the  other  boats  were 
striking  the  water :  "  Look  after  him,  Mr.  Brander." 
And  Brander  nodded  reassuringly. 

Dan'l  climbed  into  the  rigging  to  watch  the  battle;  he 
scarce  took  his  glass  from  his  eye.  What  he  hoped  for, 
whether  he  thought  chance  and  the  whale  might  wipe  Noll 
from  his  path,  only  Dan'l  knew. 

This  whale,  as  it  chanced,  was  sighted  at  early  morning ; 
and  this  was  as  well.  A  big  bull,  the  creature  lay  quietly, 
just  awash,  while  the  captain's  boat  came  upon  it  from 
behind.  He  stirred  not  at  all  till  Noll  Wing  swung  hard 


178  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

on  the  long  steering  oar  and  brought  them  in  against  the 
black  side  and  bellowed  to  Silva : 

"  Let  go  !     Let  go  the  irons  !  " 

Silva  knew  his  work  as  well  as  any  man ;  and  he  got 
both  harpoons  home  to  the  hitches,  and'  threw  the  line  clear 
as  the  bull  leaped  bodily  forward'  and  upward,  half  out  of 
the  water,  and  whirled  in  a  smothering  turmoil  of  spray 
and  tortured  foam  to  escape  the  blades  that  bit  him. 
j  Noll  swung  them  out  of  his  way,  shouted  to  Silva : 

"  Aft,  now !     Let  me  be  at  him,  man.   .   .  ." 

And  Silva  came  stumbling  back  across  the  thwarts  to 
take  the  steering  oar,  while  Noll  went  forward  and  chose 
his  lance  and  braced  himself  in  the  bow. 

The  whale,  his  first  torment  dulled,  had  stopped  his 
struggle  and  lay  still,  swinging  slowly  around  in  the 
water.  It  was  a-s  though  he  looked  about  to  discover 
what  it  was  that  had  attacked  him ;  and  old  Tichel  —  the 
other  boats  were  standing  by  in  a  half  circle  about  N'oll 
and  the  whale  —  bawled  across  the  water : 

"  'Ware,  sir.     He's  looking  for  you." 

Noll  heard  and  wfeved  his  hand  defiantly;  and  at  the 
same  time,  the  whale  saw  Noll's  boat  and  charged  it. 

The  whale,  as  has  been  said,  would  be  invulnerable  if  his 
wit  but  matched  his  bulk.  It  does  not.  Furthermore,  the 
average  whale  will  not  fight  at  all,  but  runs ;  and  it  is  his 
efforts  to  escape  that  blindly  cause  the  damage,  and  even 
the  tragedies  of  the  fisheries.  But  when  he  does  attack,  he 
attacks  almost  always  in  the  same  way.  The  sperm  whale, 
the  cachalot,  trusts  to  his  jaw;  he  bites;  and  his  enemy  is 
not  the  men  in  the  boat,  but  the  boat  itself.  Perhaps  he 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  179 

cannot  see  the  men ;  his  eye  is  small  and  set  far  back  on 
either  side  of  his  great  head.  Certainly,  when  once  a  boat 
is  smashed,  it  is  r-are  for  a  whale  to  deliberately  try  to 
destroy  the  men  in  the  water.  The  sperm  whale  tries  to 
bite ;  the  right  whale  —  it  is  from  him  your  whalebone 
oomes  —  strikes  with  his  vast  flukes.  He  will  lie  quietly 
in  the  water  and  brush  his  flukes  back  and  forth  across  the 
surface,  feeling  for  his  enemy.  If  his  flukes  touch  a 
floating  tub,  an  oar,  a  man,  they  coil  up  like  an  enormous 
spring,  and  slap  down  with  a  blow  that  crushes  utterly 
whatever  they  may  strike.  The  whalemen  have  a  proverb : 
"  'Ware  the  sperm  whale's  jaw,  and  the  right  whale's 
flukes."  And  there  is  more  truth  than  poetry  in  that. 

When  a  sperm  whale  destroys  a  boat  with  his  flukes,  it 
is  probably  accident ;  but  he  bites  with  malice  prepense  and 
pernicious.  The  whale  which  Noll  had  struck  set  out  to 
catch  Noll's  boat  and  smash  it  in  his  jaws. 

His  very  eagerness  was,  for  a  long  time,  his  destruction. 
The  whale  was  bulky ;  a  full  hundred  feet  long,  and  accord- 
ingly unwieldy.  A  man  on  foot  can,  if  he  be  sufficiently 
quick,  dodge  a  bull  in  an  open  field ;  by  the  same  token,  a 
thirty-foot  whaleboat,  flat-bottomed,  answering  like  magic 
to  the  very  thought  of  the  men  who  handle  her,  can  dodge 
a  hundred-barrel  bull  whale.  Noll's  boat  dodged ;  the  men 
used  their  oars  at  Noll's  command,  and  Silva  in  the  stern 
swung  her  around  as  on  a  pivot  with  a  single  sweep.  The 
whale  surged  past,  the  water  boiling  away  from  its  huge 
head. 

Surged  past,  and  turned  to  charge  again.  .  .  .  This 
time,  as  it  passed,  Noll  touched  the  creature  with  his  lance, 


180  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

but  the  prick  of  it  was  no  more  than  the  dart  in  the  neck 
of  a  fighting  bull.  It  goaded  the  whale,  and  nothing  more. 
He  charged  with  fury ;  his  very  fury  was  their  safety. 

Noll  struck  the  whale  at  a  little  after  nine  o'clock  in 
the  morning.  At  noon,  the  vast  beast  was  still  fighting, 
with  no  sign  of  weariness.  It  charged  back  and  forth, 
back  and  forth;  and  the  men  swung  the  boat  out  of  his 
way;  and  their  muscles  strained,  their  teeth  ground  to- 
gether, the  sweat  poured  from  them  with  their  efforts. 
They  were  intoxicated  with  the  battle.  Noll,  in  the  bow, 
bellowed  and  shouted  his  defiance ;  the  men  yelled  at  every 
stroke ;  they  shook  their  fists  at  the  whale  as  he  raged  past 
them.  And  Silva,  astern,  snatching  them  again  and  again 
from  the  jaws  of  destruction,  grinned  between  tight  lips, 
and  plied  his  oar,  and  cried  to  Noll  to  strike. 

At  a  little  after  noon,  the  whale  swung  past  Noll  with 
such  momentum  that  he  was  carried  out  to  the  rim  of  the 
circle  in  which  the  fight  was  staged,  and  saw  Tichel's  boat 
there.  Any  boat  was  fair  game  to  the  monster ;  and  Tichel 
had  grown  careless  with  watching  the  breath-taking  strug- 
gle. He  had  forgotten  his  own  peril;  he  expected  the 
whale  to  turn  back  on  Noll  again.  .  .  . 

It  did  not;  it  swung  for  him,  and  its  jaws  sheared 
through  the  very  waist  of  his  boat,  so  that  the  two  halves 
fell  away  on  either  side  of  the  vast  head.  The  men  had 
time  to  jump  clear;  there  was  no  man  hurt  —  save  for 
the  strangling  of  the  salt  water  —  and  the  whale  seemed 
to  feel  himself  the  victor,  for  he  lay  still  as  though  to 
rest  upon  his  laurels. 

Willis  Cox  was  nearest ;  he  drove  his  boat  that  way,  and 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  181 

stood  in  the  bow  with  lance  in  hand  to  strike.  But  Noll, 
hauling  up  desperately  on  the  line,  bellowed  to  him :  "  Let 
be,  Willis.  He's  mine."  And  Willis  sheered  off. 

Then  the  whale  felt  the  tug  of  the  line,  and  whirled  once 
more  to  the  battle.  Willis  picked  up  Tichel  and  his  men, 
towed  the  halves  of  the  boat  away,  back  to  the  ship.  .  .  . 
The  Sally  was  standing  by,  a  mile  from  the  battle.  Such 
whales  as  this  could  sink  the  Sally  herself  with  a  battering 
blow  in  the  flank.  It  was  dangerous  to  come  too  near. 
Willis  put  Tichel  and  his  men  aboard,  and  went  back  to 
wait  and  be  ready  to  answer  any  command  from  Noll. 

The  fifth  hour  of  the  battle  was  beginning.  .  .  .  The 
whale  was  tireless ;  and  Noll,  in  the  bow  of  his  boat,  seemed 
as  untired  as  the  beast  he  fought.  But  his  men,  even 
Silva,  were  wearying  behind  him.  It  was  this  weariness 
that  presently  gave  the  whale  his  chance.  He  charged, 
and  Silva's  thrust  on  the  long  oar  was  a  shade  too  late. 
The  boat  slipped  out  of  reach  of  the  crashing  jaws;  but 
the  driving  flukes  caught  it  and  it  was  overturned.  The 
gear  flew  out.  .  .  . 

Noll,  in  the  bow,  clung  to  the  gunwale  for  an  instant  as 
the  boat  was  overthrown.  Long  enough  to  wrench  out  the 
pin  that  held  the  line  in  the  boat's  bow.  Silva,  astern, 
would  have  cut ;  his  hatchet  was  ready.  But  Noll  shouted : 
"  No,  by  God !  Let  be.  .  .  ." 

Then  they  were  all  in  the  water,  tumbling  in  the  surges 
thrown  back  by  the  passage  of  the  monster.  .  .  .  And  the 
whale  drove  by,  turned,  saw  no  boat  upon  the  water, 
thought  victory  was  come.  .... 

Brander,  at  this  time,  was  a  quarter-mile  away.     When 


182  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

the  boat  went  over,  he  yelled  to  his  men :  "  Pull.  .  .  . 
Oh,  pull !  "  And  they  bent  their  stout  oars  with  the  first 
hot  tug;  fresh  men,  untired,  hungry  these  hours  past  for  a 
chance  at  the  battle.  Brander  started  toward  where  lay 
the  capsized  boat,  the  swimming  men.  .  .  . 

And  Noll  Wing  lifted  a  commanding  arm  and  beckoned 
him  to  make  all  speed.  Brander  urged  his  men:  "Spring 
hard !  Spring.  .  .  .  Hard.  Now,  on !  " 

A  whaleboat  is  as  speedy  as  any  craft  short  of  a  racing 
shell;  and  Brander's  men  knew  their  work.  They  cut 
across  the  vision  of  the  loafing  whale ;  and  the  beast  turned 
upon  this  new  attacker  with  undiminished  vigor. 

Brander's  eyes  narrowed  as  he  judged  their  distance 
from  the  drifting  boat ;  he  swerved  a  little  to  meet  the 
coming  whale  head  on.  The  whale  plowed  at  him;  they 
met  fifty  yards  to  one  side  of  the  spot  where  the  boat  was 
floating ;  and  as  they  met,  Brander  dodged  past  the  whale's 
very  jaw,  and  slid  astern  of  him.  Before  the  whale  could 
turn,  he  was  alongside  the  capsized  boat,  dragging  Noll 
over  his  own  gunwale. 

He  dragged  Noll  in;  and  he  saw  then  that  the  captain 
held  in  his  hand  a  loop  of  the  line  that  was  fast  to  the 
whale.  And  Brander  grinned  with  delighted  apprecia- 
tion. Noll  straightened,  brushed  Brander  back  out  of  the 
way  without  regarding  him,  passed  the  line  to  the  men  in 
Brander's  boat.  "Haul  in,"  he  roared.  "Get  that 
stowed  aboard  here.  By  God,  we'll  get  that  whale.  .  .  ." 

They  worked  like  mad,  coiling  the  slack  line  in  the  waist, 
while  Noll  fitted  it  into  the  crotch  and  pinned  it  there. 
The  whale  was  back  at  them,  by  then ;  they  dodged  again. 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  183 

And  this  time,  as  the  creature  swung  past,  Loum  —  Bran- 
der's  boat-steerer  —  brought  them  in  close  against  the 
monster's  flank  before  dodging  out  to  evade  the  smashing 
flukes.  In  that  instant,  Noll  saw  his  chance,  and  drove 
home  his  lance  to  half  its  length. 

It  was  the  first  fair  wound  the  whale  had  taken ;  a  wound 
not  fatal,  not  even  serious.  Nevertheless,  it  seemed  to 
take  the  fight  out  of  the  beast.  He  sulked  for  a  moment, 
then  began  —  for  the  first  time  in  more  than  five  hours' 
fighting  —  to  run. 

The  line  whipped  out  through  the  crotch  in  the  bow ;  the 
men  tailed  on  to  it,  and  let  it  go  as  slowly  as  might  be, 
while  Loum  swung  the  steering  oar  to  keep  them  in  the 
creature's  track.  Noll,  in  the  bow,  was  like  a  man  glori- 
fied ;  his  cap  was  tugged  tight  about  his  head ;  he  had  flung 
away  his  coat,  and  his  shirt  was  open  half  way  to  the 
waist.  The  spray  lashed  him ;  his  wet  garments  clung  to 
his  great  torso.  His  right  hand  held  the  lance,  point  up- 
ward, butt  in  the  bottom  of  the  boat;  his  left  rested  on 
the  line  that  quivered  to  the  tugging  of  the  whale.  His 
knee  was  braced  on  the  bow.  ...  A  heroic  figure,  a  figure 
of  strength  magnificent,  he  was  like  a  statue  as  the  whale- 
boat  sliced  the  waves ;  and  his  lips  smiled,  and  his  eyes 
were  keen  and  grim.  The  line  slipped  out  through  the 
burning  fingers  of  the  men ;  the  whale  raced  on. 

Abruptly  Noll  snapped  over  his  shoulder :  "  Haul  in, 
Mr.  Brander."  And  Brander,  at  Noll's  back,  gave  the 
word  to  the  men ;  and  they  began  to  take  back  the  line 
they  had  given  the  whale  in  the  beginning.  It  came  in 
slowly,  stubbornly.  .  .  .  But  it  came.  They  drew  up  on 


184  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

the  whale  that  fled  before  them.  They  drew  up  till  the 
smashing  strokes  of  the  flukes  as  the  creature  swam  no 
more  than  cleared  their  bow.  Drew  up  there,  and  sheered 
out  under  the  thrust  of  Loum's  long  oar,  and  still  drew 
on.  .  .  .  They  were  abreast  of  the  flukes ;  they  swung  in 
ahead  of  them.  .  .  .  They  slid,  suddenly,  against  the 
whale's  very  side. 

The  end  came  with  curious  abruptness.  The  whale,  at 
the  touch  of  the  boat  against  his  side,  rolled  a  little  away 
from  them  so  that  his  belly  was  half  exposed.  The  "  life  " 
of  a  whale,  that  mass  of  centering  blood  vessels  which  the 
lance  must  find,  lies  low.  Noll  knew  where  it  lay ;  and  as 
the  whale  thus  rolled,  he  saw  his  mark.  .  .  .  He  drove  the 
lean  lance  hard ;  drove  it  so  hard  there  was  no  time  to  pull 
it  out  for  a  second  thrust.  Nor  any  need.  It  was 
snatched  from  his  hands  as  the  whale  rolled  back  toward 
them.  Loum's  oar  swung ;  they  loosed  line  and  shot  away 
at  a  tangent  to  the  whale's  course.  And  Noll  cried  ex- 
ultantly, hands  flung  high :  "  Let  me,  let  be,  me.  He's 
done ! " 

They  saw,  within  a  matter  of  seconds,  that  he  was  right. 
The  whale  stopped ;  he  slowly  turned ;  he  lay  quiet  for  an 
instant  as  though  counting  his  hurts.  The  misty  white  of 
his  spout  was  reddened  by  a  crimson  tint;  it  became  a 
crimson  flood.  It  roared  out  of  the  spout  hole,  driven  by 
the  monster's  panting  breath.  .  .  .  And  the  whale  turned 
slowly  on  his  side  a  little,  began  to  swim. 

A  tiny  trout,  hooked  through  the  head  and  thrown  back 
into  the  pool,  will  sometimes  race  in  desperate  circles,  bat- 
tering helplessly  against  the  bank,  the  bottom  of  the  pool, 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  185 

the  sunken  logs.  .  .  .  Thus  this  monstrous  creature  now 
swam ;  a  circle  that  centered  about  the  boat  where  Noll 
and  the  others  watched ;  that  tore  the  water  and  flung  it  in 
on  them.  Faster  and  faster,  till  it  seemed  his  great  heart 
must  burst  with  his  own  labors.  And  at  the  end,  flung 
half  clear  of  the  water,  threw  his  vast  bulk  forward,  surged 
idly  ahead,  slowly.  .  .  .  Was  still. 

Noll  cried:     "Fin  out,  by  God.     He's  dead.  .  .  ." 

A  big  whale,  as  big  as  most  whalemen  ever  see,  the  big- 
gest Noll  himself  had  ever  slain.  A  fitting  thing ;  for  old 
Noll  Wing  had  driven  his  last  lance.  He  was  tired ;  he 
showed  it  when  Brander  gave  the  whale  to  Willis  for  tow- 
ing back  to  the  ship,  and  raced  for  the  Sally  with  Noll 
panting  in  the  bow.  The  fire  was  dying  in  the  captain's 
eyes ;  he  pulled  Brander's  coat  about  his  great  shoulders 
and  huddled  into  it.  He  scarce  moved  when  they  reached 
the  Sally.  Brander  helped  him  aboard.  Dan'l  Tobey 
cried :  "  A  great  fight,  sir.  Six  hours ;  and  two  stove 
boats.  .  .  .  But  you  killed." 

Noll  wagged  his  old  head,  looked  around  for  Faith, 
leaned  heavily  upon  her  arm. 

"  Take  me  down,  Faith,"  he  said.  "  Take  me  down. 
For  I  am  very  tired." 


XIX 

ONE-EYED  MAUGER  sought  out  Brander  three 
days  later.  Brander  had  been  decent  to  him 
from  the  beginning;  and  Mauger,  who  had  been 
changed  from  a  venomous  and  evil  thing  into  a  cacklingly 
cheerful  nonentity  by  Noll  Wing's  blow  and  kick,  repaid 
Brander  with  a  devotion  almost  inhuman.  He  sought  out 
Brander  three  days  later.  .  .  .  That  is  to  say,  he  made 
occasion,  during  the  work  of  scrubbing  up  after  Noll's  last 
whale,  to  come  to  Brander's  feet ;  and  while  he  toiled  at  the 
planking  of  the  deck  there,  he  looked  up  at  the  fourth 
mate  and  nodded  significantly. 

Brander    understood    the    one-eyed    man ;    he    asked : 
"What's  wrong,  Mauger?  "     His  tone  was  friendly. 

Mauger  chuckled  mirthlessly,  deprecatingly.     "  Don't 
want  you  should  git  mad,"  he  protested. 

Brander  shook  his  head,  his  eyes  sobering.     "  Of  course 
not.     What  is  it?" 

"  There's  chatter,  forward,"  said  Mauger.     "  They're 
talking  dirt." 

Brander's  voice  fell.     "  Who?  " 

"  Slatter  was  th'  first.     Others  now.     Dirt." 

Brander  looked  about  the  deck ;  there  was  no  one  within 
hearing.     He  asked  quietly:     "What  kind  of  dirt?" 

186 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  187 

Mauger  looked  up  and  grinned  unhappily  and  apolo- 
getically. "  You  know,"  he  said.  "  You  and  — 
her.  .  .  ." 

Brander's  eyes  hardened;  he  said,  under  his  breath: 
"  Thanks,  Mauger."  And  he  walked  away  from  where 
the  one-eyed  man  was  scrubbing.  Mauger  rose  on  his 
knees  to  look  after  the  fourth  mate  with  something  like 
worship  in  his  eyes. 

Brander  went  aft  with  his  problem.  A  real  problem. 
Faith  besmirched.  .  .  .  He  would  have  cut  off  his  right 
hand  to  prevent  it;  but  cutting  off  his  right  hand  would 
have  done  no  good  whatever.  He  would  have  fought  the 
whole  crew  of  the  Sally,  single-handed;  but  that  would 
have  done  even  less  good  than  the  other.  You  cannot 
permanently  gag  a  man  by  jamming  your  fist  in  his  mouth. 
And  Brander  knew  it ;  so  that  while  he  boiled  with  anger 
and  disgust,  he  held  himself  in  check,  and  tried  to  consider 
what  should  be  done.  .  .  . 

Must  do  something.  .  .  .  No  easy  task  to  determine 
what  that  something  was  to  be. 

Brander  considered  the  members  of  the  crew ;  the  fo'm'st 
hands.  Slatter  he  knew ;  an  evil  man.  Others  there  were 
like  him,  either  from  weakness  or  sheer  malignant  festering 
of  the  soul.  But  there  were  some  who  were  men,  some  who 
were  decent.  .  .  .  Some  who  would  fight  the  foul  talk, 
wisely  or  unwisely  as  the  case  might  be;  some  who  had 
eyes  to  see  the  goodness  of  Faith,  and  hearts  to  trust 
her.  .  .  . 

Brander's  task  was  to  help  these  men.  He  could  not 
himself  go  into  the  fo'c's'le  and  strike;  to  do  so  would 


188  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

only  spread  the  filth  of  words  abroad.  But  —  one  thing 
he  could  do.  He  saw  the  way.  .  .  . 

Avoid  Faith.  .  .  .  That  would  not  be  easy,  since  their 
lives  must  lie  in  the  cabin.  Avoid  Faith,  avoid  speaking 
to  her  save  in  the  most  casual  way,  avoid  being  alone  with 
her.  That  much  he  must  do ;  and  something  more.  The 
crew  would  be  spying  on  them  now,  watching,  whispering. 
He  must  give  them  no  food  for  whispers ;  he  must  go  fur- 
ther. He  must  give  them  proof  that  their  whispers  were 
ill-founded.  He  must.  .  .  . 

It  was  this  word  of  Mauger's  that  led  Brander  to  a 
determination  which  was  to  threaten  him  with  ruin  in  the 
end ;  it  was  this  word  of  Mauger's  that  determined  Brander 
to  give  himself  to  the  crew.  To  keep  some  of  them  al- 
ways near  him,  always  in  sight  of  him;  to  force  them,  if 
he  could,  to  see  for  themselves  that  he  had  little  talk  with 
Faith  and  few  words  with  her.  That  was  what  Brander 
planned  to  do.  He  worked  out  the  details  carefully. 
When  he  was  on  deck,  he  must  keep  in  their  sight ;  and  he 
must  keep  himself  on  deck  every  hour  of  the  day  save  when 
he  went  below  for  meals.  He  decided  to  do  more;  the 
nights  were  warm  and  pleasant.  He  had  a  hammock 
swung  under  the  boathouse,  and  planned  to  sleep  there; 
he  laid  open  his  whole  life  to  their  prying  eyes.  Let  them 
see  for  themselves.  .  .  . 

He  was  satisfied  with  this  arrangement,  at  last.  It 
was  the  best  that  could  be  done ;  he  put  it  into  action  at 
once,  and  he  saw  within  three  days'  time  that  Slatter  and 
the  others  had  noticed,  and  were  wondering  and  ques- 
tioning. 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  189 

The  men  were  puzzled ;  the  cabin  was  puzzled.  And  no 
one  was  more  puzzled  by  Brandcr's  new  way  of  life  than 
Dan'l  Tobey.  He  was  puzzled,  but  he  was  at  the  same 
time  elated.  For  he  perceived  that  Brander  had  given 
him  a  weapon,  a  handle  to  take  hold  of.  And  Dan'l  was 
not  slow  to  take  advantage  of  it. 

They  were  working  westward  at  the  time,  killing  whales 
as  they  went.  Ahead  was  the  Bay  of  Islands,  and  Port 
Russell.  Southward,  the  Solander  Rock,  and  the  Solander 
Grounds,  where  all  the  big  bull  whales  of  the  seven  seas 
have  a  way  of  flocking  as  men  flock  to  their  clubs.  A 
cow  is  seldom  or  never  seen  there ;  the  bulls  are  slain  by 
scores.  Toward  this  hunting  ground,  as  famous  for  its 
whales  as  it  was  infamous  for  its  ugly  weather,  the  Sally 
Sims  was  working.  They  would  touch  at  Port  Russell  on 
the  way.  .  .  . 

Three  days  before  they  were  like  to  make  the  Port, 
Dan'l  made  an  occasion  to  have  words  with  Noll  Wing. 
Noll  was  on  deck,  Faith  and  the  officers  —  save  Brander, 
who  was  with  Mauger  forward  —  were  all  below.  There 
was  a  group  of  men  by  the  tryworks ;  and  Dan'l  strolled 
that  way.  He  moved  inconspicuously,  approaching  them 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  ship ;  and  when  he  came  near, 
he  stopped  and  seemed  to  listen.  Noll,  aft,  was  paying 
him  little  attention  though  Dan'l  made  sure  that  the  cap- 
tain saw. 

Slattcr  was  among  the  group  of  men ;  Dan'l  scattered 
them,  angrily,  and  drove  them  forward.  When  they  were 
gone,  he  went  aft  again ;  and  as  he  had  expected,  Noll 
asked : 


190  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

"  What  was  that,  Dan'l?  " 

Dan'l  smiled  and  said  it  was  nothing  that  mattered; 
and  his  tone  suggested  that  it  mattered  a  great  deal. 
Noll  sternly  bade  him  speak,  and  Dan'l  said  reluctantly: 

"  It  was  but  the  foolish  talk  of  idle  men,  sir.  I  bade 
them  keep  their  tongues  still." 

"  What  manner  of  foolish  talk  ?  " 

Dan'l  would  not  meet  Noll's  eyes.  "  Why,  lies,"  he 
said.  "  Chatter." 

Noll  said  heavily :  "  I'm  not  a  man  to  be  put  off,  Dan'l. 
Speak  up,  man." 

Dan'l  frowned  sorrowfully:  "It  was  just  their  talk 
about  Mr.  Brander  and  Faith,  sir.  Lies,  as  I  told  you. 
They  shut  up  when  I  spoke  to  them." 

"What  talk  of  Brander  and  my  wife?"  Noll  asked 
slowly. 

Dan'l  shook  his  head.  "  You  can  guess  it  for  yourself, 
sir.  The  men  have  nothing  better  to  do  than  chatter  and 
gossip  like  old  women.  They've  had  no  work  for  three 
days.  We  need  another  whale  to  shut  their  mouths." 

"  What  talk?  "  Noll  repeated. 

Danl  smiled.  "  I  think  too  well  of  Faith  and  of  Bran- 
der to  say  it  for  you,"  he  insisted. 

Noll  fell  silent,  his  brows  lowering  for  a  space ;  then  he 
waved  his  great  hand  harshly.  "  Bosh,"  he  said.  "  Fool- 
ishness." 

Dan'l  nodded.  "  Of  course.  Nevertheless,  I  ..." 
He  fell  silent ;  and  Noll  looked  at  him  acutely. 

"You  — what?  "he  asked. 

"  I  don't  blame  Mr.  Brander,  you  understand,"  said 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  191 

Dan'l.  "  But  —  it's  in  my  mind  that  —  being  with  the 
crew  as  much  as  he  is  —  he  should  put  a  stop  to  it." 

Noll's  eyes  ranged  the  deck.  Brander  was  amidships 
now ;  and  Mauger  was  still  with  him.  Mauger  was  scrap- 
ing at  the  rail,  cleaning  away  some  traces  of  soot  from  the 
last  trying  out,  under  Brander's  eye.  They  were  talking 
together ;  and  Noll  frowned  and  looked  at  Dan'l  and 
asked : 

"You  think  Mr.  Brander  is  too  much  with  the  crew?" 

Dan'l  shook  his  head.  "  No,  not  too  much.  It's  as 
well  for  an  officer  to  be  on  good  terms  with  the  men. 
Leastwise,  some  think  so.  I  was  never  one  to  do  it.  But 
—  no,  not  too  much.  Nevertheless,  he's  much  with  them." 

Noll  thought  for  a  while,  his  brows  lowering;  and  he 
said  harshly,  at  the  end :  "  That  matter  of  Faith  is 
trash.  Their  clacking  tongues  should  be  dragged 
out.  .  .  ." 

Dan'l  nodded.  "  Aye ;  but  that  would  not  stop  them. 
You  know  the  men,  sir."  And  he  added :  "  Still  it  seems 
Brander  should  be  able  to  hush  them."  And  after  a  mo- 
ment more:  "You  mark,  he's  all  but  deserted  us  in  the 
cabin.  He  sticks  much  with  the  men  of  late." 

Noll's  face  contracted.  He  touched  Dan'l's  arm. 
"  I've  seen  that  he  is  much  with  Mauger,"  he  agreed. 
"  And  Mauger.  .  .  ."  His  muscles  twitched ;  and  he  said 
under  his  breath :  "  Maugcr's  whetting  his  knife  for  me, 
Dan'l.  I'm  watchful  of  that  man." 

"  He  has  a  slinking  eye,"  said  Dan'l.  "  But  I  make  no 
doubt  he's  harmless  enough,  sir.  I'd  not  fear  him.  .  .  ." 

Noll  said  stoutly:     "  I'm  not  a  hand  to  fear  any  man, 


193  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

Dan'l.  Nevertheless,  that  twitching  eye  of  his  frets 
me.  .  .  ."  He  shuddered  and  gripped  Dan'l's  arm  the 
tighter.  "  I  should  not  have  kicked  the  man,  Dan'l.  I've 
been  a  hard  man ;  too  hard.  ...  An  evil  man,  in  my  day. 
I  doubt  the  Lord  has  raised  up  Mauger  to  destroy  me." 

Dan'l  laughed.  "  Pshaw,  sir.  .  .  .  Even  the  Lord 
would  have  small  use  for  a  thing  like  Mauger."  He  waited 
for  a  moment  thoughtfully.  "  Any  case,"  he  said.  "  If 
you  were  minded,  you  could  drop  him  ashore  at  Port  Rus- 
sell and  be  rid  of  him." 

Noll  moved  abruptly.  "  Eh,"  he  said.  "  I  had  not 
thought  of  that."  He  seemed  to  shrink  from  the  thought. 
..."  But  it  may  be  he  is  meant  to  be  about  me.  .  .  . 
I'd  not  go  against  the  Lord,  Dan'l.  .  .  ." 

Dan'l  looked  sidewise  at  the  captain;  and  there  was 
something  like  contempt  in  his  eyes.  He  said  slowly: 
"  If  it  was  me,  I'd  set  the  man  quietly  ashore.  .  .  ." 

He  turned  away,  left  Noll  to  think  of  the  matter.  .  .  . 

Dan'l  wondered,  all  that  day,  whether  Noll  would  act; 
but  toward  nightfall  they  raised  a  spout,  and  killed  as 
dark  came  upon  them.  That  held  them,  for  cutting  in 
and  trying  out,  three  days  where  they  lay ;  and  they  killed 
once  more  before  they  made  the  Bay  of  Islands.  They 
were  touching  at  Port  Russell  for  water  and  fresh  vege- 
tables ;  they  put  in  there.  .  .  . 

When  the  anchor  went  down,  Noll  sent  for  Brander  to 
come  down  to  him  in  the  cabin.  They  had  anchored  at 
nightfall,  and  would  not  go  ashore  till  morning.  Noll  sent 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  193 

for  Brander;  and  when  Brander  came,  Noll  looked  at  him 
furtively.  .  .  . 

Brander  saw  the  captain  had  been  drinking;  Noll's 
hands  shook,  and  his  fingers  and  his  tongue  were  unsteady. 
The  muscles  of  his  face  twitched;  and  there  was  a  Bible 
open  in  his  lap  and  a  bottle  beside  him.  Brander  held  his 
eyes  steady,  masked  what  he  felt.  Noll  beckoned  with  a 
croohed  finger. 

"  Come  'ere,"  he  said  huskily. 

Brander  faced  him.  They  were  in  the  after  cabin ;  and 
Noll  sat  still.  "  We're  staying  here  a  day,"  he  said. 

Brander  nodded.     "  Wood  and  stores,  sir,  I  suppose." 

Noll  nodded  heavily.  "Oh,  aye.  .  .  .  But,  something 
else,  Mr.  Brander.  I'm  goin'  leave  here  that  man  in  your 
boat.  Mauger.  .  .  ." 

Brander's  lips  tightened  faintly;  he  held  his  voice. 
"Mauger?"  he  echoed.  "Why?  What's  wrong  with 
him?" 

"  Don'  want  him  around  any  more,"  said  Noll  slowly. 

"  Why  not?  "  Brander  insisted. 

Noll's  lips  twitched  with  the  play  of  his  nerves,  and  he 
poured  a  drink  and  lifted  it  to  his  mouth  with  unsteady 
fingers.  He  set  down  the  glass,  spilling  a  little  of  the 
liquor ;  and  he  wiped  his  mouth  with  the  back  of  his  hand. 
"  I  had  'casion  to  discipline  Mauger,"  he  said,  with  awk- 
ward dignity,  his  head  wagging.  "  I  had  'casion  to  disci- 
pline Mauger.  An'  now  he's  got  a  knife  for  me.  He's 
goin'  kill  me.  I  ought  kill  him ;  put  the  man  shore,  'stead 
of  that." 


194  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

Brander  smiled  reassuringly.  "  Mauger's  harmless, 
sir.  And  he  does  his  work." 

Noll  shook  his  head.  "  I  know  *im.  He's  a  murd'rer. 
I'm  goin'  put  him  ashore." 

The  fourth  mate  hesitated ;  then  he  said  quietly :  "  All 
right.  If  he  goes,  I  go  too." 

Noll's  head  jerked  back  as  though  he  had  been  struck; 
and  his  red  eyes  widened  and  narrowed  again  as  he  peered 
at  Brander,  and  he  hesitated  unsteadily.  "  Wha's  that?  " 
he  asked.  "  Wha's  that  you  say?  " 

"  I  say  I'll  go  if  he  goes." 

Noll's  head  drooped  and  swayed  wearily ;  but  after  a 
moment  he  asked:  "  Wha'  for?  " 

"  The  man  shipped  for  the  cruise,"  said  Brander.  "  He 
does  his  work.  I'll  not  be  a  party  to  putting  him  ashore 
—  dumping  him  in  this  God-forsaken  hole." 

Noll  raised  a  hand.  "  Don'  speak  of  God,"  he  said 
reprovingly.  "  You  don'  understand  Him,  Mr.  Brander." 
Brander  said  nothing;  and  Noll's  hand  dropped  and  he 
whined :  "  Man  can't  do  what  he  wants  on  his  own 
ship.  .  .  ." 

Brander  said :  "  Do  as  you  like,  sir.  I  think  you 
should  let  him  stay.  He  means  no  harm.  .  .  ." 

Noll  waved  his  hand.  "  Oh,  a'right,"  he  agreed.  "  Say 
no  more  'bout  it  at  all.  Let  be.  Keep'm;  keep'm,  Mr. 
Brander.  But  lis'en."  He  eyed  Brander  shrewdly. 
"  Lis'en.  I  know  one  thing.  He's  goin*  to  knife  me 
some  night.  I  know.  He's  a  murd'rer.  And  you're  de- 
fending him.  .  .  .  Pr'tecting  him.  Birds  of  a  feather 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  195 

flock  t'gether,  Mr.  Brander."  The  captain  got  unsteadily 
to  his  feet,  raised  a  threatening  hand.  "  When  he  kills 
me;  just  r'member.  My  blood's  on  your  own  head,  sir." 
Brander  hesitated ;  his  heart  revolted.  His  impulse  was 
to  leave  the  ship,  take  Mauger,  trust  his  luck.  ...  But 
he  thought  of  Faith.  This  man,  her  husband,  was  dying. 
.  .  .  He  could  see  that.  And  when  he  was  gone,  there 
would  be  trouble  aboard  the  Sally.  Faith  herself  meant 
trouble;  the  ambergris  in  the  captain's  storeroom  meant 
more  trouble.  .  .  .  Brander  knew  it  might  well  be  that 
Faith  would  need  him  in  that  day.  ,  .  ,  He  could  not 
leave  her.  .  .  . 

He  said  quietly :     "  I  take  that  responsibility,  sir." 
Noll  was  slumped  in  his  chair  again.     "  Go  'way,"  he 
said,  and  waved  his  hand.     "  Go  'way." 

That  night,  in  the  small  hours,  Noll  screamed  in  a  way 
that  woke  the  ship ;  he  had  come  out  of  drunken  slumber, 
desperate  with  a  vivid  hallucination  that  appalled 
him.  .  .  . 

He  thought  that  Mauger  was  at  him  with  a  sheath 
knife,  and  that  Brander  was  at  Mauger's  back.  Faith 
and  Dan'l  fought  to  soothe  him ;  Faith  in  her  loose  dress- 
ing-gown, her  hair  in  its  thick  braid.  .  .  .  Dan'l  had  more 
eyes  for  Faith  than  for  Noll.  He  had  never  seen  her 
thus  before ;  never  seen  her  so  beautiful ;  never  seen  her,  he 
thought,  so  desperately  to  be  desired.  .  .  .  His  lips  were 
wet  at  the  sight  of  her.  .  .  . 

Noll's  terror  racked  and  tore  at  the  man ;  it  seemed  to 


196  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

rip  the  very  flesh  from  his  bones.     When  it  passed,  at  last, 
and  he  fell  asleep  again,  he  was  wasted  like  a  corpse. 

Dan'l,  looking  at  Noll  and  at  Faith,  wished  Noll  were  a 
corpse  indeed. 


XX 

A  CHANGE  was  coming  to  pass  in  Faith  at  this 
time.  As  the  strength  flowed  out  of  Noll,  it 
seemed  to  flow  into  her.  As  Noll  weakened, 
Faith  was  growing  strong. 

She  had  never  lacked  a  calm  strength  of  her  own ;  the 
strength  of  a  good  woman.  But  she  was  acquiring  now 
the  strength  and  resolution  of  a  man.  At  first,  this  was 
unconscious ;  the  spectacle  of  Noll's  degeneration  moved 
her  by  the  force  of  contrast.  But  for  a  long  time  she 
clung  to  the  picture  of  the  Noll  of  the  past,  clung  to  the 
hope  that  the  captain  would  become  again  the  map  she 
had  married.  And  so  long  as  she  did  this,  she  made  her- 
self a  part  of  him,  his  support.  .  .  .  She  merged  herself 
in  him,  thought  of  herself  only  as  his  helpmate.  .  .  .  She 
had  always  tried  to  stimulate  his  pride  and  strength ;  she 
had  tried  to  lead  him  to  reassume  the  domination  of  the 
Sally  and  all  aboard  her.  And  in  the  days  before  Noll 
went  out  to  kill  his  whale,  she  thought  for  a  time  she  had 
succeeded. 

But  when  Noll  came  back  to  her  that  day,  exhausted  by 
the  struggle,  the  fire  gone  out  of  him,  Faith  perceived  that 
he  was  a  weak  vessel,  cracking  and  breaking  before  her 
eyes. 

Noll  was  gone;  he  was  no  longer  a  man.     His  hands 

and  his  heart  had  not  the  force  needed  to  enable  him  to 

197 


198  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

command  the  Sally,  to  make  the  voyage  successful,  to 
bring  the  bark  safely  back  to  port  in  the  end.  Faith  saw 
this ;  but  she  refused  to  consider  the  chance  of  failure. 
She  had  married  Noll  when  he  was  at  the  height  of  his 
apparent  strength ;  the  signs  of  his  disintegration  were  not 
yet  apparent.  They  had  swept  upon  him  suddenly.  .  .  . 
But  she  would  not  have  it  said  of  him,  when  he  was  gone, 
that  he  had  sailed  the  seas  too  long;  that  he  had  failed  at 
last,  and  shamefully.  .  .  . 

She  had  come  to  look  upon  the  success  of  this  last  voy- 
age of  Noll's  as  a  sacred  charge ;  and  when  Noll's  shoul- 
ders weakened,  she  prepared  deliberately  to  take  the  bur- 
den on  her  own.  The  Sally  must  come  safely  home,  with 
filled  casks  for  old  Jonathan  Felt ;  she  must  come  safely 
home,  no  matter  what  happened  to  Noll  —  or  to  herself. 
The  prosperity  of  the  Sally  Sims  was  almost  a  religion  to 
Faith.  .  .  . 

She  had  begun  to  study  navigation  more  to  pass  the 
long  and  dreary  days  than  from  any  other  motive;  she 
applied  herself  to  it  now  more  ardently.  And  she  began, 
at  the  same  time,  to  study  the  men  about  her;  to  weigh 
them ;  to  consider  their  fitness  for  the  responsibilities  that 
must  fall  upon  them.  The  fo'm'st  hands,  and  particularly 
the  mates,  she  weighed  in  the  balance.  The  mates,  and 
above  all  Dan'l  Tobey.  For  if  Noll  were  to  go,  Dan'l,  by 
all  the  ancient  laws  of  the  sea,  would  become  master  of  the 
ship ;  and  their  destinies  would  lie  in  his  hands.  .  .  . 

Short  of  the  Solander  Grounds,  they  struck  good  whal- 
ing, and  lingered  for  a  time ;  and  day  by  day  the  tuns  and 
casks  were  filled,  and  the  Sally  sank  lower  in  the  water  with 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  199 

her  increasing  load.  They  were  two-thirds  full,  and  not 
jet  two  years  out.  Good  whaling.  ...  At  dinner  in  the 
cabin  one  day,  Dan'l  Tobey  said  to  Faith : 

"  You've  brought  us  good  luck,  Faith,  by  coming  along, 
this  cruise.  We  never  did  much  better,  since  I've  been 
with  Cap'n  Wing." 

Faith  looked  to  Noll.  Noll  was  eating  slowly,  paying 
them  no  attention.  Silence  was  falling  upon  the  captain 
in  those  days,  like  a  foreshadowing  of  the  great  silence 
into  which  he  would  presently  depart.  He  said  nothing; 
so  Faith  said:  "  Yes.  We've  done  well.  .  .  .  I'm  glad." 

Old  James  Tichel  looked  slyly  from  face  to  face.  "  And 
the  'gris,  stowed  below  us  here,  will  make  it  a  fine  fat  cruise 
for  old  Jonathan  Felt  when  we  come  home,"  he  chuckled. 

At  the  mention  of  the  ambergris,  a  little  silence  fell. 
Brander  was  at  the  table,  Brander  and  the  others.  Dan'l 
and  Willis  Cox  and  young  Roy  Kilcup  looked  at  Brander, 
as  though  expecting  him  to  speak.  He  said  nothing,  and 
old  Tichel,  gnawing  at  his  food,  chuckled  again,  as  though 
pleased  with  what  he  had  said. 

The  ambergris,  so  rich  a  treasure  in  so  small  a  bulk,  had 
never  been  forgotten  for  a  minute  by  any  man  in  the  cabin  ; 
nor  by  Faith.  But  they  had  not  spoken  of  it  of  late; 
there  was  nothing  to  be  said,  and  there  was  danger  in  the 
saying.  It  was  as  well  that  it  be  forgotten  until  they 
were  home  again.  .  .  .  There  were  too  many  chances  for 
trouble  in  the  stuff.  .  .  . 

When  Bra-nder  did  not  speak,  however,  Dan'l  gently 
prodded  him.  He  said  to  Tichel:  "You're  forgetting 
that  Mr.  Brander  claims  it  for  his  own." 


200  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

Tichel  chuckled  again.  "  Oh,  aye,  I  was  forgetting 
that  small  matter,"  he  agreed.  "  My  memory  is  very 
short  at  times." 

Still  Brander  said  nothing.  Dan'l  looked  toward  him. 
"  I'll  be  warrant  Mr.  Brander  does  not  forget,"  he  said. 

Brander  looked  toward  Dan'l,  and  he  smiled  amiably. 
"  Thank  you,"  he  told  the  mate.  "  Keep  me  reminded. 
It  had  all  but  slipped  from  my  mind." 

There  was  so  much  hostility  in  the  air,  in  the  slow  words 
of  the  men,  that  Faith  said  quietly :  "  We'll  be  on  the 
Solander,  soon.  I'm  looking  forward  to  that,  Dan'l. 
You've  seen  the  Rock  ?  " 

She  hoped  to  change  them  to  another  topic ;  but  Dan'l 
brought  it  smoothly  back  again.  "  Yes,"  he  said.  "  Yes. 
.  .  .  Last  cruise,  the  Betty  Howe,  out  of  Port  Russell, 
picked  up  a  sizable  chunk  of  'gris  not  a  week  before  we 
touched  the  grounds.  That  brought  two-sixty  to  the 
pound,  I  heard." 

"How  much  was  it?"  Willis  Cox  asked;  and  Dan'l 
looked  to  Willis  and  said  amiably : 

"  Fifteen  pound  or  so.  No  more  than  a  thimbleful  to 
what  we've  got.  .  .  .  That  is  to  say,  to  what  Mr.  Bran- 
der's  got,  below  here." 

Brander  had  finished  eating;  he  rose  to  go  on  deck. 
But  Roy  Kilcup  could  no  longer  hold  his  tongue.  He  got 
to  his  feet  in  Brander's  path,  demanded  sharply: 

"  Do  you  honestly  mean  to  claim  that  for  your  own, 
Mr.  Brander?  Are  you  so  much  of  a  hog?  " 

Brander  looked  down  at  the  boy ;  and  he  smiled.     "  I'll 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  201 

give  you  your  share,  now,  if  it  will  stop  your  worrying, 
youngster,"  he  said. 

"  I  want  to  know  what  you're  going  to  do,"  Roy  in- 
sisted. "Are  you  going  to  stick  to  your  claim?  " 

"  Others  want  to  know,"  said  Brander,  and  stepped  to 
one  side  to  pass  Roy.  Roy  would  have  spoken  again; 
but  Noll  said  heavily  from  the  head  of  the  table: 

"  Roy,  let  be." 

That  put  a  moment's  silence  upon  them  all.  In  this 
silence,  Brander  went  on  his  way  to  the  deck.  Roy  stared 
after  him  for  a  moment,  then  sat  down  in  his  place.  His 
face  was  sullen  and  angry.  .  .  .  No  one  spoke  of  the  mat- 
ter again;  but  Dan'l  saw  that  Faith  was  thoughtful. 
Faith  was  puzzling  over  Brander,  trying  to  fathom  the 
man.  .  .  .  She  was  troubled  and  uneasy.  .  .  .  Dan'l  saw 
that  Noll  had  lifted  his  heavy  head  and  was  watching  her. 

Afterward,  Dan'l  went  with  Noll  into  the  after  cabin. 
Faith  had  gone  on  deck;  and  she  and  Willis  Cox  were 
talking  together,  by  the  wheel,  with  Roy.  Brander,  as 
usual,  had  taken  himself  to  the  waist  where  he  was  under 
the  eye  of  the  crew.  His  harpooner,  Loum,  was  with 
him.  Mauger  hung  within  sound  of  his  voice  like  an  ador- 
ing dog. 

Dan'],  in  the  after  cabin  with  Noll,  made  up  the  log. 
Noll  sat  heavily  on  the  seat,  half  asleep.  He  got  up, 
while  Dan'l  was  still  writing,  and  got  his  bottle.  It  was 
almost  empty ;  and  he  cursed  at  that,  and  Dan'l  looked  up 
and  said : 

"  Sit  down,  sir.     Give  that  to  me..    I'll  fill  it  up  again." 


THE  SEA  BRIDE 

Noll  accepted  the  offer  without  speaking,  and  gave 
Dan'l  the  key  to  his  storeroom,  where  there  was  a  cask 
of  whiskey,  and  another  of  rum.  Dan'l  came  back  pres- 
ently with  the  bottle  filled.  .  .  .  His  eyes  were  shining 
with  an  evil  inspiration,  but  he  said  nothing  for  a  little. 
When  his  work  on  the  log  was  done,  however,  he  looked 
across  to  Noll,  and  after  a  little,  as  though  answering  a 
spoken  question,  said: 

"  I  wouldn't  worry  about  him,  sir." 

Noll  looked  at  him  dully.     "  About  who,  Dan'l?  " 

"  Brander.     I  saw  you  watching  him.   .  .  ." 

Noll  dropped  his  head.     "  I  don't  like  the  man." 

"  He's  a  good  officer." 

"  Oh,  aye.  .  .  ." 

"  I  doubt  if  he  means  trouble  over  the  'gris." 

Noll  waved  a  hand  fretfully.  "  He's  too  much  with  the 
crew,  Mr.  Tobey." 

Dan'l  shook  his  head.  "I  doubt  it.  That's  one  way 
to  handle  men  —  Be  one  of  them.  They'll  do  anything 
for  him,  sir." 

Noll's  eyes  narrowed  with  the  shrewdness  of  a  drunken 
man.  "  That's  the  worst  part  of  it.  Will  they  do  any- 
thing for  me,  Dan'l?  Or  for  you?  " 

Dan'l  said  reluctantly:  "Well,  sir,  maybe  they'd 
jump  quicker  for  him." 

"  And  that's  not  reassuring,"  said  Noll.     "  Is  it,  now?  " 

"  It  wouldn't  be,  if  he  meant  wrong.  I  don't  think  he 
does.  Any  case,  he  knows  the  'gris  is  not  his,  in  the 
end.  .  .  ."  And  he  added :  "  You're  concerned  over 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  203 

Faith  and  him  —  the  way  they  are  when  they're  together. 
But  there's  no  need,  sir.  Faith  is  loyal.  .  .  ." 

Noll  looked  at  the  mate,  and  he  frowned.  "  How  are 
they,  when  they're  together?" 

"  I  thought  you  had  marked  it  for  yourself.  ...  I 
meant  nothing." 

"  Nothing?  You  meant  something.  You've  seen  some- 
thing. What  is  it  you've  seen,  Dan'l?  " 

Dan'l  protested.  "  Why,  nothing  at  all.  There's  no 
harm  in  their  being  friends.  He's  a  young  man,  strong, 
with  wisdom  in  his  head;  and  she's  young,  too.  It's  nat- 
ural that  young  folk  should  be  friendly." 

Noll's  head  sank  upon  his  chest ;  he  said  dully :  "  Aye, 
and  you're  thinking  I'm  old." 

"  No,  sir,"  Dan'l  cried.  "  Not  that.  You're  not  so 
old  as  you  think,  sir.  Not  so  old  but  what  you  might 
strike,  if  there  was  need.  I  only  meant  it  was  to  be  ex- 
pected that  they  should  be  drawn  together,  like.  Faith's 
young.  .  .  ." 

Noll's  eyes  were  reddening  angrily.  "  Speak  out,  man," 
he  exclaimed.  "  Don't  shilly-shally  with  your  tongue. 
If  there's  harm  afoot,  by  God,  I  can  take  a  hand.  What's 
in  your  mind?  " 

"  Why,  nothing  at  all.  No  harm  in  the  world,  sir.  .  .  . 
I  was  only  meaning  to  reassure  you.  I  thought  you  had 
seen  her  eyes  when  she  looked  at  the  man.  .  .  ." 

"Her  eyes?" 

"  Aye." 

"  What's  in  her  eyes  ?  " 


204  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

Dan'l  frowned  uncomfortably.  "  Why  —  friendship,  if 
you  like.  Liking,  perhaps.  Nothing  more,  I'll  swear.  I 
know  Faith  too  well.  .  .  ." 

Noll  said  heavily :     "  I'll  watch  her  eyes,  Dan'l." 

Dan'l  said  with  apparent  anxiety :  "  You  should  not 
concern  yourself,  Cap'n  Wing.  It's  but  the  fancy  of 
youth  for  youth.  ...  I.  ..." 

Noll  came  to  his  feet  with  sudden  rage  in  him.  "  Have 
done,  Dan'l.  I.  .  .  ." 

They  both  heard,  then,  Faith's  step  in  the  main  cabin ; 
and  their  eyes  met  and  burned.  And  Dan'l  got  up  quietly, 
and  closed  the  log,  and  as  Faith  came  in,  he  went  out  and 
closed  the  door  behind  him.  Closed  the  door  and  crossed 
to  the  companion  as  though  to  go  on  deck ;  but  he  lingered 
there,  listening.  .  .  . 

Listened;  but  there  was  little  for  him  to  hear.  When 
the  door  closed  behind  him,  Faith  had  turned  to  her  own 
cabin,  hers  and  Noll's.  Noll  sat  down,  his  eyes  sullen. 
.  .  .  He  watched  her  through  the  open  door  to  the  cabin 
where  their  bunks  were.  She  turned  after  a  moment  and 
came  out  to  him ;  and  he  got  to  his  feet  with  a  rush  of 
anger,  and  stared  at  her,  so  that  she  stood  still.  .  .  . 

He  said  hoarsely:     "Faith.  ...  By  God.  .  .  ." 

His  words  failed,  then,  before  the  steady  light  in  her 
eyes.  She  was  wondering,  questioning  him.  .  .  .  She  met 
his  eyes  so  fairly  that  the  soul  of  the  man  cowered  and 
shrank.  The  strength  of  rage  went  from  him.  He  drew 
back. 

"What  is  it,  Noll?"  she  asked.     "Why  are  you  - 
angry  ?  " 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  205 

He  lifted  a  clenched  hand  over  his  head;  it  trembled 
there  for  an  instant,  then  came  slowly  down.  He  wrenched 
open  the  door  to  the  main  cabin,  and  went  out  and  left 
her  standing  there.  .  .  . 

Faith  watched  him  go ;  perplexity  in  her  eyes.  Dan'l 
j  oined  him,  and  they  went  on  deck  together. 


XXI 

THEY  came  to  the  Solander  Grounds  with  matters 
still  in  this  wise.  Brander  much  with  the  crew ; 
Noll  Wing  rotting  in  his  chair  in  the  cabin  ;  Faith 
gaining  strength  of  soul  with  every  day;  Dan'l  playing 
upon  Noll,  upon  Roy,  upon  all  those  about  him  to  his 
own  ends.  .  .  . 

The  Solander  received  them  roughly;  they  passed  the 
tall  Solander  Rock  and  cruised  to  the  westward,  keeping 
it  in  sight.  There  was  another  whaling  ship,  almost  hull 
down,  north  of  them,  and  the  smoke  that  clouded  her  told 
the  Sally  she  had  her  trypots  going.  Dan'l  Tobey  was 
handling  the  vessel;  and  he  chose  to  work  up  that  way. 
But  before  they  were  near  the  other  craft,  the  masthead 
men  sighted  whales.  .  .  .  Spouts  all  about,  blossoming 
like  flowers  upon  the  blue  water.  Noll  had  regained  a 
little  of  his  strength  when  they  came  upon  the  Grounds ; 
he  took  the  ship,  and  bade  Dan'l  and  the  other  mates 
lower  and  single  out  a  lone  whale.  .  .  . 

"  They'll  all  be  bulls,  hereabouts,"  he  said.  "  Big  ones, 
too.  .  .  .  And  we'll  take  one  at  a  spell  and  be  thankful 
for  that.  .  .  ." 

The  whale  was,  as  Noll  had  predicted,  a  bull.  Dan'l 
made  the  kill,  a  ridiculously  easy  one.  The  vast  creature 
lifted  a  little  in  the  water  at  the  first  iron ;  he  swam  slowly 
southward ;  but  there  was  no  fight  in  him  when  they  pulled 

206 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  207 

up  and  thrust  home  the  lance.  The  lance  thrusts  seemed 
to  take  out  of  him  what  small  spirit  of  resistance  there 
had  been  in  the  beginning;  and  when  his  spout  crim- 
soned, he  lay  absolutely  still,  and  thus  died.  .  .  . 

An  hour  after  lowering,  the  whale  was  alongside  the 
Sally;  a  monstrous  creature,  not  far  short  of  the  colossus 
Cap'n  Wing  had  slain.  He  was  made  fast  to  the  fluke- 
chain  hitt,  and  the  cutting  in  began  forthwith.  .  .  .  That, 
too,  on  Noll  Wing's  order.  "  Fair  weather  never  sticks, 
hereabouts,"  he  said.  "  Work  while  there's  working  seas." 

Now  the  first  part  of  cutting  in  a  whale  is  to  work  off, 
the  head;  and  that  is  no  small  task.  For  the  whale  has 
no  neck  at  all,  unless  a  certain  crease  in  his  thick  blubber 
may  be  called  a  neck.  The  spades  of  the  mates,  keen- 
edged,  and  mounted  on  long  poles  with  which  they  jab 
downward  from  the  cutting  stage,  chock  into  the  blubber 
and  draw  a  deep  cut  along  the  chosen  line.  .  .  .  The  car- 
cass is  laboriously  turned,  the  process  is  repeated.  .  .  . 
Thus  on,  till  at  last  the  huge  mass  can  be  torn  free.  .  .  . 

Before  the  work  on  this  whale  was  half  done,  it  became 
apparent  that  a  gale  was  brewing.  Cross  swells,  angling 
together  at  the  mouth  of  Foveaux  Straits,  kicked  up  a 
drunken  sea  that  made  the  Sally  pitch  and  roll  at  the  same 
time ;  a  combination  not  relished  by  any  man.  Neverthe- 
less, the  head  was  got  off  and  hauled  alongside  for  cutting 
up.  ... 

This  work  had  taken  the  better  part  of  the  night ;  and 
with  the  dawn,  there  arose  a  whine  in  the  wind  that  sang 
a  constant,  high  note  in  the  taut  rigging.  With  the  Sally 
pitching  and  rolling  drunkenly,  the  fifteen  ton  junk  was 


208  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

got  off  the  head  and  hoisted  aboard,  while  every  strand 
of  rigging  creaked  and  protested  at  the  terrible  strain. 
The  blubber  was  coming  in;  but  the  wind  was  increas- 
ing. ... 

In  the  end,  the  Sally  had  to  let  go  what  remained  of  her 
catch  and  run  for  it,  losing  thereby  the  huge  "  case  "  full 
of  spermaceti,  and  a  full  half  of  the  blubber.  But  it  was 
time.  .  .  .  The  wind  was  still  increasing.  .  .  .  The  Sally 
scudded  like  a  yacht  before  it.  ... 

They  ran  into  Port  William  for  shelter,  and  Noll  Wing 
swore  at  his  ill  luck,  and  when  the  ship  was  anchored,  went 
sulkily  below.  .  .  .  Dan'l  drove  the  men  to  their  tasks.  .  .  . 

The  weeks  that  followed  were  repetitions  of  this  first 
experience,  with  such  capricious  modifications  as  the  gales 
and  the  sea  chose  to  arrange.  They  killed  many  big 
whales ;  some  they  lost  altogether,  and  some  they  lost  in 
part,  and  some  few  they  harvested.  They  fell  into  the 
way  of  running  for  port  with  their  kill  as  soon  as  the 
whale  was  alongside,  rather  than  risk  the  storms  in  the 
open.  ...  It  was  hard  and  steady  work  for  all  hands ; 
and  as  the  men  had  grumbled  at  ill  luck  when  they  sighted 
no  whales,  so  now  they  grumbled  because  their  luck  was 
overgood.  The  deck  of  the  Sally  was  filled  with  morose 
and  sullen  faces.  .  .  . 

Dan'l  found  them  easy  working,  ready  for  his  hands; 
and  by  a  word  dropped  now  and  then  through  these  busy 
times,  he  led  them  in  the  way  he  wished  them  to  go.  .  .  . 
He  never  let  them  forget,  for  one  thing,  the  ambergris 
beneath  the  cabin.  When  they  grumbled,  he  reminded 


209 

them  it  was  there  as  a  rich  reward  for  all  their  labors. 
.  .  .  And  he  reminded  them,  at  the  same  time,  that  Bran- 
der  claimed  it.  ...  Neither  did  he  let  the  men  forget 
that  which  he  wished  them  to  believe  of  Faith  and  Brander. 
By  indirections ;  by  words  with  Roy  which  he  took  care 
they  should  overhear ;  by  reproofs  for  chance-caught 
words,  he  kept  the  matter  alive  in  their  minds,  so  that 
they  began  to  look  at  Faith  sidewise  when  she  appeared 
upon  the  after  deck.  .  .  . 

Brander  was  not  blind  to  this ;  and  if  he  had  been 
blind,  Mauger's  one  eye  would  have  seen  for  him.  He 
knew  the  matter  in  the  minds  of  the  men ;  but  he  could 
not  be  sure  that  Dan'l  was  putting  it  there.  .  .  .  Could 
not  be  sure;  nevertheless,  he  spoke  to  Dan'l  of  it  one 
day.  ...  It  was  the  first  time  since  Brander  came  aboard 
that  he  and  Dan'l  had  had  more  than  passing  word. 

Brander  made  an  opportunity  to  take  the  mate  aside; 
and  he  held  Dan'l's  eyes  with  his  own  and  said  steadily: 
"  Mr.  Tobey,  there's  ugly  talk  among  the  men  aboard  here 
that  should  be  put  a  stop  to.  .  .  ." 

Dan'l  looked  surprised;  he  asked  what  Brander  meant. 
Brander  said  openly :  "  They're  coupling  my  name  with 
that  of  the  captain's  wife.  You've  heard  them.  It  should 
be  ended." 

Dan'l  said  amiably :  "  I  know.  It's  very  bad.  But 
that  is  a  thing  you  can't  stop  from  the  after  deck,  Mr. 
Brander." 

Brander  said :  "  That's  true.  So  what  do  you  think 
should  be  done  in  the  matter?  " 


210  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

The  mate  waved  his  hand.  "  It's  not  my  affair,  Mr. 
Brander.  It's  not  me  whose  name  is  coupled  with  Faith's. 
You  know  that,  yourself." 

Brander  nodded.  "  Suppose,"  he  said*;  "  suppose  I  go 
forward  again.  .  .  .  I'll  make  some  occasion  to  commit 
a  fault;  Cap'n  Wing  can  send  me  forward  and  put  Silva, 
or  another,  in  my  place." 

Dan'l  looked  at  Brander  sharply ;  and  he  shook  his 
head.  "  The  men  would  be  saying,  then,  that  it  was  be- 
cause of  this  matter  you  were  put  out  of  the  cabin." 

"  I  suppose  so." 

"  It  is  very  sure." 

"What  would  you  suggest?"  Brander  asked,  his  eyes 
holding  Dan'l's.  Dan'l  seemed  to  weigh  the  matter. 

"  How  if  you  were  to  leave  the  ship  completely  ?  "  he 
inquired. 

Brander's  eyes  narrowed ;  and  Dan'l,  in  spite  of  himself, 
turned  away  his  head.  If  Brander  left  the  ship.  .  .  . 
There  was  no  other  man  aboard  whom  he  need  fear  when 
the  time  should  come.  ...  If  Brander  but  left  the 
ship.  .  .  . 

Brander's  eyes  narrowed;  he  studied  Danl;  and  after 
a  little  he  laughed  harshly,  and  nodded  his  head  as  though 
assured  of  something  which  he  had  doubted  before. 
"  No,"  he  said.  "  No.  I'll  not  leave  the  Sally.  .  .  ." 
He  could  never  do  that ;  there  might  come  the  day  when 
Faith  would  have  to  look  to  him.  ..."  No ;  I'll  stick 
aboard  here.  .  .  ." 

Dan'l's  hopes  had  leaped  so  high ;  they  fell  so  low.  .  .  . 
But  he  hid  his  chagrin.  "You  are  right,"  he  said. 

•  f 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  211 

"  That  is  a  deal  to  ask,  just  to  stop  the  idle  chatter  of 
the  men.  Stay.  .  .  .  Best  stay.  ...  It  will  be  forgot- 
ten." 

Brander  turned  abruptly  away,  to  crush  down  a  sudden 
flood  of  anger  that  had  clenched  his  fists.  He  knew  Dan'l, 
now,  beyond  doubt.  He  had  guessed  the  mate's  eagerness 
to  be  rid  of  him.  .  .  .  Dan'l  should  not  have  his  way  in 
this  so  easily.  .  .  . 

Dan'l's  own  eyes  had  been  opened  by  this  talk  with 
Brander.  The  mate's  heart  had  not  yet  formed  his  full 
design  ;  he  was  working  evil  without  any  further  plan  than 
to  bring  harm  and  ruin.  .  .  .  But  Brander's  suggestion, 
the  possibility  that  Brander  might  leave  the  ship,  had 
revealed  to  Dan'l  in  a  single  flash  how  matters  would  lie 
in  his  two  hands  if  Brander  were  gone.  Noll  Wing  was 
nothing;  old  Tichel  he  could  swing;  Willis  Cox  was  a 
boy;  the  crew  were  sheep.  Only  Brander  stood  out 
against  him ;  only  Brander  must  be  beaten  down  to  clear 
his  path.  With  Brander  gone.  .  .  . 

Dan'l  set  himself  this  task ;  to  eliminate  Brander.  He 
thought  of  many  plans.  A  little  mishap  in  the  whaling, 
a  kinked  line,  a  flying  spade,  an  ugly  mischance.  .  .  . 
But  these  could  not  be  arranged;  he  could  only  hope  for 
the  luck  of  them.  Hope  for  the  luck.  .  .  .  But  that 
need  not  prevent  him  working  to  help  out  the  fates.  Not 
openly;  he  could  not  do  that  without  setting  Brander  on 
guard.  And  Brander  on  guard  was  doubly  to  be  feared. 
Dan'l  remembered  an  ancient  phrase,  the  advice  of  an  old 
philosopher  to  a  rebellious  soul,  he  thought.  "  When 
you  strike  at  a  king,  you  must  kill  him.  .  .  ."  It  was  so 


212  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

with  Brander;  he  must  be  destroyed  at  a  blow.  .  .  .  Ut- 
terly. .  .  . 

Noll  was  a  tool  that  might  serve;  Noll  would  strike,  if 
he  could  be  roused  to  the  full  measure  of  wrath.  Dan'l 
worked  with  Noll  discreetly,  in  hidden  words,  appearing 
always  to  defend  Brander.  .  .  .  Brander  and  Faith  meant 
no  harm.  .  .  .  They  were  friends,  no  more.  .  .  .  Dan'l 
assured  Noll  of  this,  again  and  again ;  and  he  took  care 
that  his  assurances  should  not  convince.  Noll  stormed 
at  him  one  night : 

"  Why  must  you  always  be  defending  Faith  ?  Why  do 
you  stand  by  her?  " 

And  Dan'l  said  humbly :  "  I've  always  known  Faith, 
sir.  I  don't  want  to  see  her  do  anything.  .  .  .  That  is, 
I  don't  want  to  see  you  harsh  with  her,  sir." 

And  Noll  fell  into  a  brooding  silence  that  pleased  Dan'l 
mightily.  .  .  .  But  still  he  did  not  strike  at  Brander.  .  .  . 

Dan'l  reminded  the  captain  that  Brander  still  gave 
much  time  to  the  crew;  he  played  on  that  string.  .  .  . 
Still  hoping  Noll  might  be  roused  to  overwhelming  rage. 
But  Dan'l's  poisoned  soul  was  losing  its  gift  of  seeing 
into  the  hearts  of  men;  the  old  Noll  would  have  reacted 
to  his  words  as  he  hoped.  This  new  Noll  was  another 
matter;  this  Noll,  aging  and  rotting  with  drink,  was  led 
by  Dan'l's  talk  to  hate  Brander  —  and  to  fear  him.  His 
fear  of  Brander  and  of  the  one-eyed  man  obsessed  even 
his  sober  mind.  He  would  never  dare  seek  to  crush  Bran- 
der openly;  Faith  he  might  strike,  but  not  the  man. 

In  the  end,  even  Dan'l  perceived  this ;  he  cast  about  for 
a  new  instrument,  and  found  it  in  the  man,  Slatter. 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  213 

Slatter  had  crossed  Brander's  path,  to  his  sorrow.  The 
loose-tongued  man  dropped  some  word  of  Faith  which 
Brander  heard,  and  Brander  remembered.  .  .  .  He  made 
pretext  of  Slatter's  next  small  failure  at  the  work  to  beat 
the  man  into  a  bleeding  pulp.  .  .  .  No  word  of  Faith  in 
this ;  he  thrashed  Slatter  for  idling  at  the  windlass  when 
a  blanket  strip  was  being  hoisted,  and  for  impudence. 
.  .  .  And  Slatter  was  his  enemy  thereafter.  Dan'l  saw, 
and  understood.  .  .  .  And  he  cultivated  Slatter ;  he  tended 
the  man's  hurts,  and  gave  him  covert  sympathy  for  the 
beating  he  had  taken.  .  .  .  And  Slatter,  emboldened, 
harshly  swore  that  he  would  end  Brander  for  it,  give  him 
half  a  chance. 

Dan'l  said  hastily,  and  quietly :  "  Don't  talk  such 
matters,  man.  There's  more  than  you  aboard  ship  would 
do  that  if  they  dared.  I'm  not  saying  even  Noll  Wing 
would  not  smile  to  see  Brander  gone.  .  .  .  No  matter 
why.  ..." 

"  I  know  why,"  Slatter  swore.  "  Every  man  forrad 
knows  the  why  of  that.  .  .  ." 

"  Well,  then  you'll  not  blame  Noll,"  said  Dan'l.  "  I'm 
thinking  he'd  fair  kiss  the  man  that  had  a  hand  in  ending 
Brander,  if  it  was  not  done  too  open.  But  there's  none 
aboard  would  dare  it.  .  .  ." 

"  By  God,  let  me  get  him  forrad,  right,  and  I'll.  .  .  ." 

"  Quiet,"  said  Dan'l.     "  Here's  the  man  himself.  .  .  ." 

Here  was  his  tool ;  Dan'l  waited  only  the  occasion. 
There  was  a  way  to  make  that. 

A  whaler's  crew  are  for  the  most  part  scum;  harm- 
less enough  when  they're  held  in  hand.  .  .  .  Harmless 


21 4  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

enough  so  long  as  they're  kept  in  fear.  But  alcohol  drives 
fear  out  of  a  man.  And  there  was  whiskey  and  rum  in  the 
captain's  storeroom,  aft.  .  .  . 

It  was  one  of  the  duties  of  Roy,  as  ship's  boy,  to  fetch 
up  stores  from  this  room  at  command ;  he  was  accustomed 
to  fill  Noll  Wing's  bottles  now  and  then.  Dan'l  saw  he 
might  use  Roy ;  and  he  did  so  without  scruple.  "  I've 
need  for  liquor,  Roy,"  he  told  the  lad.  "  But  I'd  not 
ask  Noll.  .  .  .  He's  jealous  of  the  stuff,  as  you  know. 
So  when  next  you're  down,  fill  a  jug.  .  .  .  Fetch  it  up 
to  me." 

He  said  it  so  casually  that  Roy  agreed  without  ques- 
tion. The  boy  was  pleased  to  serve  Dan'l.  ..  .  .  Dan'l 
held  him,  he  had  captured  Roy,  heart  and  soul.  Roy  gave 
him  the  jug  full  of  liquor  next  morning.  Slatter  had  it 
by  nightfall,  and  that  without  Dan'l's  appearing  in  the 
matter.  Slatter  came  aft  to  take  the  wheel,  and  Dan'l 
saw  to  it  the  jug  was  in  his  sight  and  at  hand.  .  .  .  Slat- 
ter carried  it  forward  with  him.  .  .  .  He  passed  Dan'l 
in  the  waist ;  and  Dan'l  looked  at  the  jug  and  laughed  and 
said: 

"  Man,  that  looks  like  liquor." 

Slatter  grinned  uneasily.  "  Oil  for  the  fo'c's'le  lamp," 
he  said. 

Dan'l  wagged  his  head.  "  See  that  that's  so,"  he  said. 
*'  If  any  ructions  start  in  the  fo'c's'le,  I'll  send  Brander 
forward  to  quiet  you.  You'll  not  be  wanting  Brander 
to  lay  hand  on  you  again." 

Slatter's  eyes  shifted  hungrily ;  he  went  on  his  way  with 


THE  SEA  BRIDE 

quick  feet,  and  Dan'l  watched  him  go,  and  his  eyes  set 
hard. 

That  was  at  dusk.  Toward  ten  that  night,  when  Bran- 
der  was  in  his  hammock  under  the  boathouse,  one  of  the 
men  howled,  forward,  and  there  was  the  sound  of  scuffling 
in  the  fo'c's'le.  Dan'l  was  aft,  waiting.  ...  He  called 
to  Brander: 

"Go  forward  and  put  a  stop  to  that  yammering,  Mr. 
Brander." 

Brander  slid  out  of  his  hammock,  assented  quietly,  and 
started  forward  along  the  deck.  Dan'l  watched  his  dark 
figure  in  the  night  until  it  was  lost  in  the  waist  of  the  Sally. 
.  .  .  He  waited  a  moment.  .  .  .  Brander  must  be  at  the 
fo'c's'le  scuttle  by  now.  .  .  . 

Came  cries,  blows,  a  tumultuous  outbreak.  The  Sally 
rang  with  the  storm  of  battle.  Then,  abruptly,  quiet.  .  .  . 

At  that  sudden-falling  quiet,  Dan'l  turned  pale  in  spite 
of  himself;  he  licked  his  lips.  The  thing  was  done.  .  .  . 

He  ran  forward,  virtuously  ready  to  take  a  hand. 


XXII 

WHEN  Brander,  at  Dan'l's  command,  went  for- 
ward to  quiet  the  men  in  the  fo'c's'le,  he 
found  two  or  three  of  the  crew  on  deck  about 
the  scuttle,  watching  the  tumult  below.  .  .  .  When  they 
heard  him  and  saw  him,  they  backed  away.  The  light 
from  the  fo'c's'le  lamp  dimly  illumined  their  faces;  and 
Brander  thought  there  was  something  murderous  and  at 
the  same  time  furtive  in  their  eyes. 

More  than  that,  he  caught  the  smell  of  alcohol.  .  .  . 
So  there  was  whiskey  loose  below  him. 

A  man  boiled  up  the  ladder  past  him  to  the  deck,  saw 
him  and  slid  away  into  the  dark.  Another.  .  .  .  Six  or 
eight  were  still  fighting  below. 

Brander  had  that  sixth  sense  which  men  must  have  who 
would  command  other  men;  he  felt,  now,  the  peril  in  the 
air.  His  duty  was  down  there  among  those  fighting  men ; 
to  get  down,  he  would  ordinarily  have  used  the  ladder. 
But  to  do  so  would  be  to  engage  his  hands  and  his  feet, 
and  he  might  well  have  need  of  both  these  members.  .  .  . 
He  put  his  hands  on  the  edge  of  the  fo'c's'le  scuttle  and 
dropped  lightly  to  the  floor  of  the  fo'c's'le,  without  touch- 
ing the  ladder.  He  landed  on  his  toes,  poised,  ready.  .  .  . 

The  narrow,  crowded,  triangular  den  was  thick  with 
the  smell  of  hot  men,  of  whiskey,  of  burning  oil;  the  air 
was  heavy  with  smoke.  A  single  swinging  lamp  lighted 

216 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  217 

the  place.  .  .  .  Beneath  this  lamp,  four  or  five  men  were 
involved  in  a  battle  from  which  legs  and  arms  were  waved 
awkwardly  as  their  owners  struggled.  Two  other  men 
crouched  at  opposite  sides  of  the  fo'c's'le.  .  .  .  Watch- 
ing. .  .  .  One  was  Mauger;  the  other  Slatter.  Brander 
cried : 

"  Drop  it,  now.  .  .  ." 

The  character  of  the  struggle  changed;  the  fighting 
men  straightened.  .  .  .  Then  some  one  hit  the  lamp  and 
sent  it  whirling  into  darkness;  and  at  the  same  moment, 
Brander  heard  Slatter  scream  murderously.  .  .  .  He 
slipped  to  one  side,  backed  into  a  corner,  held  hands  be- 
fore him,  ready  to  meet  an  attack.  .  .  . 

Slatter's  charge,  if  he  were  attacking  Brander,  should 
have  carried  the  man  past  the  mate's  hiding  place.  But 
Brander,  in  the  dark,  heard  a  thump  of  two  bodies  to- 
gether, and  heard  Slatter  bellowing  profanity,  and  heard 
heels  thumping  upon  the  floor.  Then  two  or  three  men 
made  a  rush  up  the  ladder  to  the  deck.  .  .  .  Another. 
.  .  .  Brander  stepped  forward,  tripped  over  a  whirling 
leg,  and  dropped  upon  a  smother  of  two  bodies  which 
writhed  beneath  him.  An  arm  was  flying;  he  gripped  for 
it  and  felt  the  prick  of  a  knife  in  his  wrist.  So.  .  .  . 
Death  in  the  air,  then.  .  .  . 

He  dragged  that  arm  down  to  his  face  and  bit  at  the 
wrist  and  the  back  of  the  hand  till  he  felt  the  knife  drop 
from  the  man's  fingers.  .  .  .  The  three  of  them  were  writh- 
ing and  striking  and  kicking  and  strangling.  .  .  .  But 
the  knife  was  gone.  ...  So  much  the  better.  He  began 
to  fumble  with  his  right  hand,  seeking  marks  for  his  fists. 


218  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

.  .  .  He  did  not  strike  blindly,  but  when  he  struck,  his 
blows  went  home.  .  .  .  On  some  one's  ribs,  and  back,  and 
once  on  the  neck  at  the  base  of  the  ear.  .  .  . 

They  were  fighting  in  silence  now.  .  .  .  All  had  passed 
so  quickly  that  it  was  still  scarce  more  than  seconds  since 
Brander  dropped  into  the  fo'c's'le.  Their  bodies  thumped 
the  planking  resonantly;  they  struggled  in  a  fashion  that 
shook  the  ship.  They  were  gasping  and  choking  for 
breath.  .  .  . 

Some  one  screamed  terribly  in  Brander's  very  ear,  and 
a  hand  that  was  gripping  his  neck  relaxed  and  fell  away. 
The  bodies  of  the  fighting  men  were  for  an  instant  still ; 
and  in  that  instant's  silence,  some  one  asked: 

"  You  all  right,  Mr.  Brander?  " 

Brander  knew  the  voice.  Mauger's.  He  said: 
"Yes.  .  .  ." 

Mauger  squirmed  out  from  under  Brander.  .  .  . 
"  What  hit  Slatter?  "  he  asked  sharply.  "  Did  you  get 
him?  .  .  ." 

Brander  got  up,  and  the  body  of  Slatter  fell  away  from 
him  limply.  It  was  about  that  time  that  Dan'l  reached 
the  fo'c's'le  scuttle  above,  and  looked  down  into  the  dark- 
ness. He  saw  nothing;  and  he  called: 

"Mr.  Brander?" 

Brander  said  quietly :     "  Yes,  sir,  all  right." 

"  What's  wrong,  here?  " 

"  Slatter  tried  to  knife  me,"  said  Brander. 

"  Have  you  got  him  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know.  He's  still.  Strike  a  light,  if  you 
please.  .  .  ." 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  219 

Dan'l  was  already  half  way  down  the  ladder;  but  even 
before  his  sulphur  match  scratched,  Brander's  nostrils 
told  him  what  had  happened.  They  brought  him  a  smell. 
.  .  .  Unmistakable.  .  .  .  Appalling.  .  .  .  The  smell  of 
blood.  .  .  . 

He  was  on  his  knees  beside  Slatter's  body  when  Dan'l 
bent  over  him  with  the  flickering  match.  They  saw  Slat- 
ter  doubled  forward  over  his  own  legs,  and  Brander  ex- 
plained swiftly :  "  I  had  a  full-Nelson.  ...  I  was  forc- 
ing him  over  that  way  when  he  yelled.  .  .  ." 

He  lifted  Slatter's  body ;  and  they  saw  the  hilt  of  a 
knife  that  was  stuck  downward,  deep  into  his  right  thigh. 
Dan'l  cried: 

"  You've  killed  him." 

And  one-eyed  Mauger  interrupted  loyally :  "  No,  he 
didn't.  Didn't.  .  .  ." 

Dan'l  looked  at  the  one-eyed  man.  "  How  do  you 
know?" 

"  I  did.     I  stuck  the  knife  in  him.  .  .  ." 

Brander  looked  at  Mauger,  and  he  touched  the  little 
man's  shoulder.  "  You're  a  liar,  little  friend,"  he  said, 
and  smiled.  And  he  turned  to  Dan'l.  "  I  bit  the  knife 
out  of  his  hand,"  he  said.  "  Out  of  Slatter's.  ...  It 
fell  against  my  chest  and  slid  down.  ...  It  must  have 
dropped  between  his  body  and  his  legs,  and  his  own  body, 
bending  forward,  drove  it  in." 

Dan'l  smiled  unpleasantly.  "All  right;  but  Mauger 
says  he  did  it." 

Brander  shook  his  head.  "  He  didn't.  For  a  good 
reason.  He  was  flat  on  the  floor,  and  I  was  kneeling  on 


220  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

his  back,  between  him  and  Slatter,  when  Slatter  yelled  and 
quit  fighting.  .  .  ." 

Dan'l  groped  for  the  whale-oil  lamp  and  lighted  it  and 
bent  to  look  at  the  knife.  "  How  did  it  kill  him,  there?  " 
he  demanded. 

"  Struck  the  big  thigh  artery,"  said  Brander.  "  It 
must  have.  .  .  ." 

Then  Noll  Wing's  voice  came  to  them  from  the  scuttle. 
"What's  wrong,  below?"  And  his  big  bulk  slid  down 
the  ladder.  .  .  . 

Brander 's  explanation  was  the  one  that  went  down  in 
the  log,  in  the  end.  Noll  wrote  it  himself,  in  the  irregular 
and  straggling  characters  which  his  trembling  fingers 
formed.  And  that  was  Faith's  doing;  for  Dan'l  did  not 
believe,  or  affected  not  to  believe,  and  Noll  was  too  shaken 
by  the  tragedy  to  know  what  he  believed. 

Dan'l  and  Noll  and  Faith  talked  it  over  between  them, 
in  the  after  cabin,  the  next  morning.  Faith  had  slept 
through  the  disturbance  of  the  night  before ;  but  when  she 
heard  of  it  in  the  morning  it  absorbed  her.  She  went  on 
deck  and  found  Brander  and  made  him  tell  her  what  had 
happened.  He  described  the  outbreak  in  the  fo'c's'le;  he 
told  how,  when  he  went  forward,  he  smelled  liquor  on  the 
men.  .  .  .  How  he  dropped  through  the  fo'c's'le  scuttle, 
and  some  one  knocked  the  lamp  from  its  hanging,  and 
Slatter  rushed  him. 

"  Mauger  saw  what  the  man  meant,"  he  said.  "  He 
jumped  on  him  from  the  side;  and  then  I  took  a  hand; 
and  we  had  it  for  a  while,  in  a  heap  on  the  floor." 


THE  SEA  BRIDE 

The  other  men  in  the  fo'c's'le  had  fled  to  the  deck, 
leaving  Slatter  to  do  his  own  work.  "  I  made  him  let  go 
of  the  knife,"  Brander  explained,  "  and  after  we  had 
banged  around  for  a  while,  I  got  him  from  behind,  my 
arms  under  his,  my  hands  clasped  behind  his  neck.  I 
bent  him  over,  forward.  .  .  .  He  was  trying  to  get  hold 
of  my  throat,  over  his  shoulder.  .  .  .  And  he  yelled  and 
let  go.  .  .  ." 

Faith's  eyes  were  troubled.  "  You  say  the  men  had 
been  drinking?  " 

"  Yes." 

"  Where  did  they  get  it?  " 

Brander  shook  his  head;  he  waited  for  her  to  speak. 
She  said :  "  Let  me  talk  to  Mauger." 

.He  sent  the  one-eyed  man  to  her,  and  took  himself 
away.  .  .  .  Mauger  told  his  story  volubly.  The  little 
man  had  added  a  cubit  to  his  stature  by  his  exploit;  he 
had  done  heroically,  and  knew  it,  and  was  proud.  .  .  . 
He  told,  straightforwardly,  how  Brander  dropped  down 
into  the  fo'c's'le.  ..."  Slatter  had  fixed  it  with  a  man 
to  knock  out  the  light,"  he  explained.  "  I  heard  them 
whispering.  I  was  watching.  ...  I  saw  Slatter  had  a 
knife.  So  when  he  jumped  for  Mr.  Brander,  I  tripped 
him,  and  he  fell  over  me,  and  then  Mr.  Brander  grabbed 
him.  .  .  ."  The  little  man  chuckled  at  the  joke  on 
himself.  **  They  fit  all  over  me,  ma'am,"  he  said. 
"  They  done  a  double  shuffle  up  and  down  my  backbone, 
right." 

Faith  smiled  at  him  and  told  him  he  did  well.  "But 
where  did  the  men  get  liquor?  "  she  asked. 


222  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

Mauger  grinned  and  backed  away.  "  I  dunno,  ma'am. 
.  .  .  Did  they  have  any?  .  .  ." 

She  said  steadily :  "  Mauger,  where  did  the  men  get 
the  liquor?  " 

The  man  squirmed,  but  he  stood  still  under  her  eyes; 
he  tried  to  avoid  her.  .  .  .  But  in  the  end  he  came  nearer, 
looking  backward  and  from  side  to  side.  Came  nearer, 
and  whispered  at  last.  .  .  . 

"  Slatter  brought  a  jug  forward  after  his  go  at  the 
wheel,  ma'am." 

"Slatter?"  Faith  echoed  softly.  .  .  .  "Slatter.  .  .  . 
All  right,  Mauger.  And  —  don't  talk  too  much,  for- 
ward. .  .  ." 

The  man  escaped  eagerly.  He  had  been  willing  enough 
to  talk  about  Slatter's  knife  and  his  own  good  deed ; 
but  this  other  was  another  matter.  Whiskey  in  the 
fo'c's'le.  .  .  . 

This  was  in  the  early  morning,  before  the  whole  story 
had  spread  to  every  man.  Faith  went  quickly  below,  and 
asked  his  keys  from  Noll,  and  went  into  the  storeroom. 
Found  nothing  there  to  guide  her.  .  .  .  But  while  she  was 
there,  Tinch,  the  cook,  came  down  to  get  coffee.  .  .  .  She 
studied  the  man  thoughtfully.  .  .  . 

"  Tinch,"  she  said,  finger  pressing  her  cheek,  "  I  left  a 
jug  down  here.  .  .  .  It's  gone.  Have  you  seen  it  any- 
where? " 

Tinch,  a  tall,  lean  man  with  a  bald  head,  looked  at  her 
stupidly,  and  ran  a  thin  finger  through  his  straggly  locks 
and  thought.  "  Waal,  now,  ma'am,"  he  said  at  last,  "  I 
rec'lect  I  see  Roy  fetch  a  jug  up  out  o'  here,  yist'day." 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  223 

"  Roy  ?  "  she  asked.     "  What  was  he  down  here  for?  " 

"  Come  down  to.  .  .  ."  He  looked  at  her,  and  was 
suddenly  confused  with  fear  he  had  played  Judas. 
"  Waal,  now,  ma'am,"  he  drawled,  "  I  caPlate  you'd  best 
ask  the  boy  that  there." 

She  nodded  at  once.  "  Of  course.  .  .  .  Thank  you, 
Tinch." 

So  Faith  had  this  matter  in  her  mind  when  Dan'l  came 
down  to  find  Noll,  in  mid-morning,  and  ask  what  was  to 
be  done  about  the  tragedy.  Noll  said  fretfully :  "  Slide 
Slatter  over  t'side,  Mr.  Tobey.  Do  I  have  to  look  after 
everything  aboard  this  ship  ?  " 

Dan'l  nodded.  "  Hitch  is  fixing  for  that,"  he  said. 
"  What  I  mean  is,  how  about  Mauger?  He  says  he  done 
it." 

Noll  said  sullenly :  "  Well,  if  he  says  he  done  it,  he 
done  it." 

"  That's  what  I  say,"  Dan'l  agreed.  "  Only  thing  is, 
Brander  stands  up  for  him.  So  what  do  you  aim  t'do?  " 

"  Brander  stands  up  for  him.  .  .  ." 

"  Says  he  couldn't  ha'  done  it,  any  ways." 

Noll  threw  up  his  fist  angrily.  "  Damn  it,  Mr.  Tobey ; 
don't  run  to  me  with  this.  Find  out  what  happened.  .  .  . 
Then  tell  me.  That's  the  thing.  .  .  .  My  God,  this  ship 
is.  ...  God's  sake,  Mr.  Tobey,  be  a  man." 

Dan'l  said  steadily:  "All  right;  I  say  Mauger  did 
it." 

Noll's  cheeks  turned  pale  and  his  eyes  narrowed  on  the 
mate.  "  Stuck  the  knife  in  him?  " 

"  Yes." 


THE  SEA  BRIDE 

The  captain's  hands  tapped  his  knees.  "  How  did  he 
know  to  stick  it  in  the  man's  leg  so  neat?  Most  men 
would  ha'  struck  for  the  back.  .  .  .  The  man  knows  the 
uses  of  a  knife,  Mr.  Tobey." 

Dan'l  nodded.     "  Oh,  aye.  .  .  ." 

Noll  looked  furtively  toward  the  door.  "  I've  allus  said 
he'd  a  knife  for  me.  .  .  .  He'll  be  on  my  back,  one 
day.  .  .  ."  He  was  trembling,  and  he  poured  a  drink 
and  swallowed  it.  Faith,  sitting  near  him,  looked  up, 
looked  at  Dan'l,  then  bent  her  head  over  her  book  again. 
Dan'l  said : 

"  I  think  it's  wise  to  put  him  in  irons." 

Noll  roared :  "  Then  do  it,  Mr.  Tobey.  Don't  come 
whining  to  me  with  your  little  matters.  I'm  an  old  man, 
Dan'l.  .  .  .  I'm  weary  and  flld.  .  .  .  Settle  such  things. 
.  .  .  That's  the  business  of  a  mate,  Mr.  Tobey.  .  .  ." 

Faith  said  quietly,  without  looking  up :  "  Why  make 
so  much  talk?  Mr.  Brander  has  explained  what  hap- 
pened ?  " 

The  men  were  silent  for  an  instant,  surprised  and  un- 
easy. Dan'l  looked  at  the  captain ;  Noll's  head  was  bent. 
Dan'l  ventured  to  say : 

"You  think  Mr.  Brander  is  right?" 

"  Of  course." 

Dan'l  suggested  awkwardly :  "  You  —  think  he's  tell- 
ing truth?  " 

Faith  nodded.     "  Any  one  can  see  that.  .  .  ." 

Dan'l  laughed  mirthlessly.  "Then  we'd  best  write. 
.  .  .  We'd  best  let  Mr.  Brander  write  his  story  in  the 
log,  sir." 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  225 

Faith  looked  at  Dan'l  steadily;  then  she  turned  to  her 
husband.  "  Noll,"  she  said,  "  you  write  the  log.  I'll  tell 
you  what  to  write." 

He  looked  up  at  her  stupidly,  not  understanding.  She 
got  up  and  opened  the  log  book  and  gave  him  a  pen.  He 
protested :  "  Faith,  wait.  .  .  ." 

She  touched  his  shoulder  lightly  with  her  hand,  si- 
lencing him.  "  Write  this,"  she  said ;  and  when  Noll  took 
the  pen,  she  dictated :  "  Some  one  gave  the  men  liquor 
this  day;  they  were  drinking  in  the  fo'c's'le.  When  Mr. 
Brander  went  forward  to  quiet  them.  .  .  ."  She  saw  Noll 
had  fallen  behind  with  his  writing,  and  waited  a  moment, 
then  repeated  more  slowly :  "  When  Mr.  Brander  went 
forward  to  quiet  them,  Slatter  attacked  him  with  a  knife. 
In  the  struggle,  Slatter  dropped  the  knife,  and  a  moment 
later  fell  on  it,  dying  from  the  wound." 

She  repeated  the  last  sentence  a  second  time,  so  that 
Noll  got  it  word  for  word;  and  then  she  took  the  log 
from  him,  and  blotted  it,  and  put  it  away.  Dan'l  Tobey 
protested : 

"Aren't  you  saying  anything  about  Mauger?  " 

Faith  smiled  quietly.  "  Thank  you  for  reminding  me." 
She  opened  the  log  again,  bade  Noll  write,  said  slowly: 
"  The  man  Mauger  saved  Mr.  Brander's  life  by  tripping 
Slatter  as  he  charged."  Dan'l  grimaced  as  she  fin- 
ished. .  .  . 

"  Now,"  said  Faith,  "  Slatter  was  not  important ;  at 
least  he  is  no  longer  important.  But  there  is  one  thing, 
Noll,  that  you  must  stop.  .  .  .  The  whiskey  that  went 
forward.  .  .  ." 


226 

Noll  looked  at  her  slowly,  frowning  as  though  he  sought 
to  understand ;  Dan'l  said : 

"  That  was  probably  Slatter,  stole  it.  The  men  say 
so.  .  .  ." 

"He  took  it  forward,"  Faith  agreed.  "But  he  did 
not  get  it  from  the  stores.  He  could  not."  She  hesi- 
tated, her  lips  white ;  then  she  set  them  firmly.  "  Dan'l, 
fetch  Roy  here,"  she  said. 

Dan'l  was  so  surprised  that  for  an  instant  he  did  not 
stir.  "Roy?"  he  repeated.  "  What's  he.  ..." 

Faith  looked  to  her  husband.  "  Will  you  tell  him  to 
bring  Roy?  "  she  asked. 

Noll  asked  heavily :  "  What's  the  boy.  .  .  .  Go  along, 
Dan'l.  Fetch  him." 

Dan'l  got  up  at  once,  and  went  out,  closing  the  door 
behind  him.  They  heard  him  go  on  deck.  ...  A  minute 
later,  he  was  back  with  Roy  at  his  heels,  and  Faith  saw 
her  brother's  face  was  white.  She  asked  quickly : 

"  Roy,  why  did  you  steal  a  jug  of  whiskey  from  the 
stores  ?  " 

Roy  cried,  on  the  instant :     "  That's  a  lie." 

Faith  studied  him.  He  expected  accusation,  question- 
ing. Instead  she  nodded.  "  All  right." 

"  Who  says  I  stole  whiskey  ?  "  Roy  demanded. 

"  I,"  Faith  told  him. 

"  Who.  .  .  .  Somebody  lied  to  you.  .  .  ." 

"  No." 

Roy  was  near  tears  with  bafflement.  "  Why.  .  .  . 
What  makes  you.  .  .  ." 

Faith  asked  quietly:     "  Don't  you  want  to  tell?  n 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  227 

"  It's  a  lie,  I  say." 

She  looked  to  her  husband;  and  Noll  saw  they  were 
all  waiting  on  him,  and  he  tried  to  rise  to  the  occasion. 
"  By  God,  Roy.  .  .  .  What  did  you  go  and  do  that  for? 
God's  sake,  can't  a  man  have  a  ship  without  a  pack  of 
thieves  on  her?  Mr.  Tobey,  you.  .  .  ."  He  wavered,  his 
eyes  swung  helplessly  to  Faith.  He  seemed  to  ask  her  to 
speak  for  him ;  and  she  said  to  Dan'l : 

"Take  him  on  deck,  Dan'l.  Till  Cap'n  Wing  de- 
cides. .  .  ." 

Roy  insisted.     "  I  tell  you,  I  didn't.  .  .  ." 

But  Dan'l  Tobey  hushed  him.  Dan'l  was  getting  his 
first  glimpse  of  the  new  Faith ;  and  he  was  afraid  of  her. 
He  took  Roy's  arm,  led  him  out  and  away.  .  .  .  Faith 
and  Noll  were  left  alone. 

At  noon  that  day,  at  Noll  Wing's  profane  command, 
Roy  was  put  in  irons  and  locked  in  the  after  'tween  decks 
to  stay  a  week  on  bread  and  water.  The  boy  cursed 
Faith  to  her  face  for  that;  and  Faith  went  to  her  cabin, 
and  dropped  on  her  knees  and  prayed. 

But  she  kept  a  steady  face  for  the  men,  and  in  par- 
ticular she  kept  a  steady  eye  for  Dan'l  Tobey.  She  knew 
Dan'l,  now.  .  .  .  Dan'l  had  warned  Roy,  before  bringing 
him  to  the  cabin.  He  must  have  warned  the  boy,  for  Roy 
was  prepared  for  the  accusation.  He  must  have  warned 
the  boy,  therefore  he  must  have  known  what  Faith  would 
assert.  .  .  . 

And  Faith  knew  enough  of  DanTs  ascendancy  over  Roy 
to  be  sure  the  mate  had  prompted  her  brother's  theft. 

She    must    watch    Dan'l,    fight    him.     And  ...  she 


228  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

thanked  God  for  Brander.     There  was  a  man,  a  man  on 
her  side.  .  .  .  She  was  not  to  fight  alone. 

She  dreamed  of  Brander  that  night.  He  was  battling 
for  her,  in  her  dream,  against  shadowy  and  unseen  things. 
And  in  her  dream,  she  thought  he  was  her  husband. 


XXIII 

Af  unrest  seized  Noll  Wing;  an  unrest  that  was 
like  fear.     He  assumed,  by  small  degrees,   the 
aspect  of  a  hunted  man.     It  was  as  though  the 
death  of  Slatter  prefigured  to  him  what  his  own  end  would 
be.     His  nerves  betrayed  him ;  he  could  not  bear  to  have 
any  man  approach  him  from  behind,  and  he  struck  out, 
nervously,  at  Willis  Cox  one  day  when  Willis  spoke  from 
one  side,  where  Noll  had  not  seen  him  standing. 

The  continual  storms  of  the  Solander  irked  him;  the 
racking  work  of  whaling,  when  it  was  necessary  to  run  to 
port  with  each  kill,  fretted  the  flesh  from  his  bones.  They 
lost  a  whale  one  day,  in  a  sudden  squall  that  developed 
into  a  gale  and  swept  them  far  to  the  southward;  and 
when  the  weather  moderated,  and  Dan'l  Tobey  started  to 
work  back  to  the  Grounds  again,  Noll  would  have  none 
of  it. 

"  Set  your  course  t'the  eastward,"  he  commanded. 
"I'm  fed  up  with  the  Solander.  We'll  hit  the  islands 
again.  .  .  ." 

Dan'l  protested  that  there  was  nowhere  such  whaling 
as  the  Solander  offered ;  but  Noll  would  not  be  persuaded. 
He  resented  the  attempt  to  argue  with  him.  "  No,  by 
God,"  he  swore.  "  A  pity  if  a  man  can't  have  his  way. 
Hell  with  the  Solander,  Dan'l.  I'm  sick  o'  storms,  and 
cold.  Get  north  t'where  it's  warm  again.  .  .  ." 

229 


230  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

So  they  did  as  he  insisted,  and  ran  into  slack  times  once 
more.  The  men  at  first  exulted  in  their  new  leisure ;  they 
were  well  enough  content  to  kill  a  whale  and  loaf  a  week 
before  another  kill.  Then  they  began  to  be  impatient 
with  inaction ;  discontent  arose  among  them.  They  re- 
membered the  ambergris ;  and  their  talk  was  that  they 
need  stay  out  no  longer,  that  the  voyage  was  already  a 
success,  that  they  had  a  right  to  expect  to  head  for  home. 

Brander,  ever  among  them  as  he  had  promised  himself 
he  would  be,  worked  against  this  discontent.  He  tried  to 
hearten  them ;  they  gave  him  half  attention,  and  some 
measure  of  liking.  .  .  .  But  their  sulking  held  and  grew 
upon  them. 

There  was  as  much  ill  feeling  aft  as  forward.  Roy, 
released  from  his  irons  long  before,  had  not  spoken  to 
Faith  since  his  release.  He  hated  his  sister  with  that 
hatred  which  sometimes  arises  between  blood  kin,  and  which 
is  more  violent  than  any  other.  Let  lovers  quarrel;  let 
brothers  clash;  let  son  and  father,  or  mother  and  daugh- 
ter, or  brother  and  sister  go  asunder,  and  there  is  no  bit- 
terness to  equal  the  bitterness  between  them.  It  is  as 
though  the  strength  of  their  former  affection  served  to  in- 
tensify their  hate.  It  is  like  the  hatred  of  a  woman 
scorned ;  she  is  able  to  hate  the  more,  because  she  once 
has  loved. 

Roy  hated  Faith ;  and  with  the  ingenuity  of  youth,  he 
found  out  ways  to  torment  her.  He  perceived  that  Faith 
must  always  love  him,  he  perceived  that  her  thoughts 
hovered  over  him  as  do  the  thoughts  of  a  mother ;  and 
he  took  pleasure  in  agonizing  her  with  his  own  misdeeds. 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  231 

He  lied  for  the  pleasure  of  lying ;  he  swore  roundly ;  and 
once,  under  Dan'l's  gentle  guidance,  he  pilfered  rum  and 
drank  himself  into  the  likeness  of  a  beast.  When  Faith 
chided  him  for  that,  he  told  her  with  drunken  good  nature 
that  she  was  to  blame;  that  she  had  driven  him  to  it. 
Faith's  sense  of  justice  was  strong;  she  was  too  level  of 
head  to  condemn  herself;  nevertheless,  she  was  made  mis- 
erable by  what  the  boy  had  done.  .  .  .  Yet  she  led  Noll 
to  punish  him  for  this  theft,  more  sternly  than  before; 
and  afterward,  she  had  Roy  sent  forward  to  take  his 
place  among  the  men,  and  the  cabin  was  forbidden  ground 
to  him  thereafter. 

Noll  was  wax  in  Faith's  hands  in  these  days.  His  fear, 
growing  upon  him,  had  shaken  all  the  fiber  out  of  the 
man.  He  could  be  swayed  by  Dan'l,  by  old  Tichel,  by 
Faith,  by  almost  any  one.  .  .  .  Save  in  a  single  matter. 
He  was  drinking  steadily,  now;  and  drinking  more  than 
ever  before.  He  was  never  sober,  never  without  the 
traces  of  his  liquor  in  his  eyes  and  his  loose  lips  and 
slack  muscles.  And  they  could  not  sway  him  in  this 
matter.  He  would  not  be  denied  the  liquor  that  he  craved. 

Faith  tried  to  win  it  away  from  him;  she  tried  to 
strengthen  the  man's  own  will  to  fight  the  enemy  that  was 
destroying  him.  She  tried  to  fan  to  life  the  ancient  flame 
of  pride.  .  .  .  But  there  was  no  grain  of  strength  left 
in  Noll  for  her  to  work  on.  He  waved  her  away,  and 
filled  his  glass.  .  .  . 

She  might  have  destroyed  what  liquor  remained  aboard 
the  Sally;  but  she  would  not.  That  would  not  cure;  it 
would  only  put  off  the  end.  At  their  first  port,  Noll 


232  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

would  get  what  he  wanted.  .  .  .  And  there  were  islands 
all  about  them;  he  could  reach  land  within  a  matter  of 
twenty-four  hours,  or  forty-eight,  at  any  time.  She 
fought  to  help  Noll  help  himself;  she  would  not  do  more. 
Noll  was  a  man,  not  a  baby  desiring  the  fire  which  must 
be  kept  beyond  its  reach.  He  knew  his  enemy,  and  he 
embraced  it  knowingly. 

Faith  never  felt  more  keenly  the  fact  of  her  marriage 
to  Noll  than  in  those  last  days  of  his  life.  She  never 
thought  of  herself  apart  from  him ;  and  when  he  debauched 
himself,  she  felt  soiled  as  though  she  were  herself  de- 
graded. Nevertheless,  she  clung  to  him  with  all  her  soul; 
clung  to  him,  lived  the  vows  she  had  given  him.  .  .  .  There 
were  other  times,  after  that  first,  when  she  dreamed  of 
Brander.  .  .  .  But  she  could  not  curb  her  dreams.  .  .  . 
He  was  much  in  them ;  but  waking,  she  put  the  man  away 
from  her.  She  was  Noll's ;  Noll  was  hers.  Inescap- 
able. .  .  . 

Brander  avoided  her.  His  heart  was  sick ;  she  possessed 
it  utterly.  But  he  gave  no  sign ;  he  never  relaxed  the 
grip  in  which  he  held  himself.  Now  and  then,  on  deck, 
when  Noll  swore  at  her,  or  whined,  or  fretted,  Brander 
had  to  swing  away  and  put  the  thing  behind  him.  But 
he  did  it ;  he  was  strong  enough  to  do  this ;  he  was  almost 
strong  enough  to  keep  his  thoughts  from  Faith.  Almost. 
.  .  .  But  not  quite.  .  .  .  She  dwelt  always  with  him;  he 
was  sick  with  sorrow,  and  pity,  and  yearning  for  the  right 
to  cherish  her. 

They  spoke  when  they  had  to,  in  cabin  or  on  deck ;  but 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  233 

they  were  never  alone,  and  they  avoided  each  the  other 
as  they  would  have  shunned  a  precipice.  .  .  . 

Save  for  one  day,  a/single  day.  ...  A  day  when  Faith 
called  Brander  to  her  on  the  deck  and  spoke  to  him.  .  .  . 
A  single  day,  that  would  have  been,  but  for  the  strength 
of  Faith,  the  bloody  destruction  of  them  both. 

This  incident  was  the  climax  of  two  trains  of  events, 
extending  over  days.  .  .  .  Extending,  in  the  one  case,  back 
to  that  first  day  when  Dan'l  had  roused  the  "brand  of 
jealousy  in  Noll  to  flame.  Dan'l  had  never  let  that  flame 
die  out.  He  fanned  it  constantly;  and  when  he  saw  in 
Faith's  eyes,  after  the  matter  of  Roy's  first  theft  of  the 
whiskey,  that  she  had  guessed  his  part  in  it,  he  threw  him- 
self more  hotly  into  his  intrigue.  He  kept  at  Noll's  side 
whenever  it  was  possible;  he  whispered.  .  .  . 

He  spoke  openly  of  Brander's  fondness  for  the  men, 
of  Brander's  habit  of  talking  with  them  so  constantly. 
Faith  heard  him  strike  this  vein,  again  and  again.  .  .  . 
He  harped  upon  it  to  Noll,  seeming  to  defend  Brander  at 
the  same  time  that  he  accused.  .  .  .  He  played  upon  the 
strain  until  even  Faith's  belief  in  Brander  was  shaken. 
There  was  always  the  matter  of  the  ambergris.  Brander 
might  have  ended  it  with  a  word,  but  he  would  not  give 
Dan'l  Tobey  that  satisfaction.  He  would  not  say,  forth- 
right, that  the  'gris  belonged  to  the  Sally.  .  .  .  And  Dan'l 
magnified  this  matter,  and  many  others.  .  .  .  Until  even 
Faith  found  it  hard  not  to  doubt  the  fourth  mate.  .  .  . 
She  caught  herself,  more  than  once,  watching  him  when 
he  laughed  and  talked  with  the  men.  Was  there  need 


234  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

of  that?  Why  did  he  do  it?  She  could  find  no  an- 
swer. .  .  . 

Noll  feared  Brander  more  and  more ;  and  Dan'l  covertly 
taunted  the  captain  with  this  fear.  He  roused  Noll, 
time  on  time,  to  flagging  gusts  of  rage;  but  always  these 
passed  in  words.  .  .  .  And  Noll  fell  back  into  his  lethargy 
of  drink  again.  Dan'l  began  to  fear  there  was  not  enough 
man  left  in  Noll  to  act.  .  .  .  He  turned  his  guns  on  Faith, 
accusing  her  as  he  accused  Brander.  .  .  . 

But  words  were  light  things.  Noll,  moved  though  he 
might  be,  had  in  his  heart  a  trust  in  Faith  which  Dan'l 
found  it  hard  to  shake.  He  might  never  have  shaken  it, 
had  not  luck  favored  him.  .  .  .  And  this  luck  came  to 
pass  on  the  day  Faith  sought  speech  with  Brander. 

That  move,  on  Faith's  part,  was  the  result  of  an  in- 
creasing peril  in  the  fo'c's'le.  The  men  were  getting  drink 
again. 

This  began  one  day  when  a  fo'm'st  hand  came  aft  to 
take  the  wheel  and  old  Tichel  smelled  the  liquor  on  him, 
and  saw  that  the  man's  feet  were  unsteady,  and  flew  into 
one  of  his  tigerish  fits  of  rage.  .  .  .  He  drove  the  man 
forward  with  blows  and  kicks;  and  he  came  aft  with  his 
teeth  bared  and  flamed  to  Noll  Wing,  and  men  were  sent 
for  and  questioned.  Three  of  them  had  been  drinking. 
They  were  badly  frightened ;  they  were  sullen ;  neverthe- 
less, in  the  end,  under  old  Tichel's  fist,  one  of  them  said 
he  had  found  a  quart  bottle,  filled  with  whiskey,  in  his 
bunk  the  night  before.  .  .  .  Tichel  accused  him  of  steal- 
ing it ;  the  man  stuck  to  his  tale  and  could  not  be  shaken. 

The  men  could  not   come   at   the  stores   through  the 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  235 

cabin;  there  was  always  an  officer  about  the  deck  or  be- 
low. Tichel  thought  they  might  have  cut  through  from 
the  after  'tween  decks,  and  the  stores  were  shifted  in  an 
effort  to  find  such  a  secret  entrance  to  the  captain's  stores. 
But  none  was  found ;  there  was  no  way.  .  .  . 

Three  days  later,  there  was  whiskey  forward  again. 
Found,  as  before,  in  a  bunk.  .  .  .  Two  men  drunk,  rope's 
endings  at  the  rail.  .  .  .  But  no  solution  to  the  mystery. 

Two  days  after  that,  the  same  thing;  four  days  later, 
a  repetition.  And  so  on,  at  intervals  of  days,  for  a  month 
on  end.  The  whiskey  dribbled  forward  a  quart  at  a 
time;  the  men  drank  it.  ...  And  never  a  trace  to  the 
manner  of  the  theft. 

In  the  end,  Roy  Kilcup  found  a  bottle  in  his  bunk,  and 
drank  the  bulk  of  it  himself,  so  that  he  was  deathly  sick 
and  like  to  die.  Faith,  tormented  beyond  endurance,  looking 
everywhere  for  help,  chose  at  last  to  appeal  to  Brander. 

Brander  had  the  deck,  that  day.  Willis  Cox  and  Tichel 
were  sleeping.  .  .  .  Dan'l  was  in  the  main  cabin,  alone; 
Noll  in  the  after  cabin,  stupid  with  drink.  Roy  had  been 
sick  all  the  night  before,  with  Willis  Cox  and  Tichel  work- 
ing over  him,  counting  the  pounding  heart-beats,  wetting 
the  boy's  head,  working  the  poison  out  of  him.  Roy  was 
forward,  in  his  bunk,  now,  still  sodden. 

Faith  came  from  the  after  cabin,  passed  Dan'l  and  went 
up  on  deck.  Something  purposeful  in  her  face  caught 
Dan'l's  attention ;  and  he  went  to  the  foot  of  the  cabin 
companion  and  listened.  He  heard  her  call  softly: 

"  Mr.  Brander." 

Dan'l  thought  he  knew  where  Brander  would  be.     In 


236  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

the  waist  of  the  Sally,  no  doubt.  There  was  a  man  at  the 
wheel.  Faith  did  not  wish  this  man  to  hear  what  she  had 
to  say.  So  she  met  Brander  just  forward  of  the  cabin 
skylight  by  the  boathouse;  and  Dan'l,  straining  his  ears, 
could  hear. 

Faith  said :  "  Mr.  Brander,  I'm  going  to  ask  you  to 
help  me." 

Brander  told  her:  "  I'd  like  to.  What  is  it  you  want 
done?  " 

"  It's  —  Roy.     I'm  desperately  worried,  Mr.  Brander." 

"  He's  all  right,  Mr.  Cox  tells  me.  He'll  be  well  enough 
in  a  few  hours.  .  .  ." 

"It's  not  just  —  this  drunkenness,  Mr.  Brander.  It's 
—  more.  My  brother's.  .  .  .  He  is  in  my  charge,  in  a 
way.  Father  bade  me  take  care  of  him.  And  he's  — 
taking  the  wrong  path." 

Brander  said  quietly :     "  Yes." 

Dan'l  looked  toward  the  after  cabin,  thought  of  bring- 
ing Noll  to  hear.  .  .  .  But  there  was  no  harm  in  this  that 
they  were  saying;  no  harm.  .  .  .  Rather,  good.  .  .  .  He 
listened ;  and  Faith  said  steadily : 

"  My  husband  is  not  —  not  the  man  he  was,  Mr.  Bran- 
der. Mr.  Tobey.  ...  I  can't  trust  him.  I've  got  to 
come  to  you.  .  .  ." 

Dan'l  decided,  desperately,  to  bring  Noll  and  risk  it, 
trust  to  his  luck  and  to  his  tongue  to  twist  their  words. 
.  .  .  He  went  softly  across  to  the  after  cabin  and  shook 
Noll's  shoulder;  and  when  the  captain  opened  his  eyes, 
Dan'l  whispered: 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  237 

"  Come,  Noll  Wing.     You've  got  to  hear  this.  .  .  ." 

Noll  sat  up  stupidly.  "What?  Hear  what?  .  .  . 
What's  that  you  say?  " 

Dan'l  said :  "  Faith  and  Brander  are  together,  on  deck, 
whispering.  .  .  ."  He  banged  his  clenched  fist  into  his 
open  hand.  "  By  God,  sir.  .  .  .  I've  grown  up  with 
Faith ;  I  like  her.  .  .  .  But  I  can't  stand  by  and  see  them 
do  this  to  you.  .  .  ." 

"  What  are  they  about?  "  Noll  asked,  his  face  flushing. 
He  was  on  his  feet.  Dan'l  gripped  his  arm.  .  .  . 

"  I  heard  her  promise  him  you  would  soon  be  gone,  sir. 
.  .  .  That  you  were  sick.  .  .  .  That  you.  .  .  ." 

Noll  strode  into  the  cabin  ;  Dan'l  whispered :  "  Quiet ! 
Come.  .  .  ."  He  led  him  to  the  foot  of  the  companion- 
stair,  bade  him  listen. 

And  it  was  then  the  malicious  gods  played  into  Dan'l's 
evil  hands;  for  as  they  listened,  Faith  was  saying.  .  .  . 
"  Try  to  make  him  like  you.  .  .  .  But  be  careful.  He 
doesn't,  now.  ...  If  he  guessed.  .  .  ." 

Brander  said  something  which  they  could  not  hear;  a 
single  word ;  and  Faith  cried : 

"  You  can.  You're  a  man.  He  can't  help  admiring 
you  in  the  end.  I — "  She  hesitated,  said  helplessly: 
"  I'm  putting  myself  into  your  hands.  .  .  ." 

Dan'l  had  wit  to  seize  his  fortune;  he  cried  out:  "  By 
God,  sir.  .  .  ." 

But  there  was  no  need  of  spur  to  Noll  Wing  now. 
The  captain  had  reached  the  deck  with  a  single  rush, 
Dan'l  at  his  heels.  .  .  .  Faith  and  Brander  sprang  apart 


238  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

before  their  eyes ;  and  because  the  innocent  have  always 
the  appearance  of  the  guilty,  there  was  guilt  in  every  line 
of  these  two  now. 

Noll  Wing,  confronting  them,  had  in  that  moment  the 
stature  of  a  man ;  he  was  erect  and  strong,  his  eyes  were 
level  and  cold.  He  looked  from  Faith  to  Brander,  and  he 
said: 

"  Brander,  be  gone.     Faith,  come  below." 

Brander  took  a  step  forward.  Faith  said  quickly  to 
him:  "No."  And  she  smiled  at  him  as  he  halted  in 
obedience. 

Then  she  turned  to  her  husband,  passed  him,  went  down 
into  the  cabin.  And  Noll,  with  a  last  glance  at  Brander, 
descended  on  her  heels. 

Dan'l,  left  facing  the  fourth  mate,  grinned  trium- 
phantly; and  for  an  instant  he  saw  death  in  Brander's 
eyes,  so  that  his  mirth  was  frozen.  .  .  .  Then  Brander 
turned  away. 


XXIV 

FAITH  went  down  into  the  main  cabin,  crossed  and 
entered  the  cabin  across  the  stern,  turned  there  to 
await  her  husband.  He  followed  her  slowly;  he 
came  in,  and  shut  the  door  behind  him.  The  man  was 
controlling  himself;  nevertheless,  he  thrust  this  door  shut 
with  a  force  that  shook  the  thin  partition  between  the 
cabins.  .  .  .  And  he  snapped  the  bolt  that  held  it  closed. 

Then  he  turned  and  looked  at  Faith.  There  was  a 
furious  strength  in  his  countenance  at  that  moment;  but 
it  was  like  the  strength  of  a  maniac.  His  lips  twitched 
tensely ;  his  eyes  moved  like  the  eyes  of  a  man  who  is  dizzy 
from  too  much  turning  on  his  own  heels.  .  .  .  They  jerked 
away  from  Faith,  returned  to  her,  jerked  away  again. 
.  .  .  All  without  any  movement  of  Noll's  head.  And  as 
the  man's  eyes  wavered  and  wrenched  back  to  her  thus,  the 
pupils  contracted  and  narrowed  in  an  effort  to  focus  upon 
her.  For  the  rest,  he  was  flushed,  brick  red.  .  .  .  His 
whole  face  seemed  to  swell. 

He  was  inhuman ;  there  was  an  ape-like  and  animal  fury 
in  the  man  as  he  looked  at  his  wife.  .  .  . 

Abruptly,  he  jerked  up  his  hands  and  pressed  them 
against  his  face  and  turned  away;  it  was  as  though  he 
thrust  himself  away  with  this  pressure  of  his  hands.  He 
turned  his  back  on  her,  and  went  to  his  desk,  and  un- 
locked a  drawer.  Faith  knew  the  drawer;  she  was  not 

surprised  when  he  drew  out  of  it  a  revolver. 

230 


240  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

Bending  over  the  desk,  with  this  weapon  in  his  hand, 
Noll  Wing  made  sure  every  chamber  was  loaded.  .  .  . 
He  paid  her  no  attention.  Faith  watched  him  for  an  in- 
stant ;  then  she  turned  to  the  bench  that  ran  across  the 
stern  and  picked  up  from  it  a  bit  of  sewing,  embroidery. 
.  .  .  She  sat  down  composedly  on  the  bench,  crossed  her 
knees  in  the  comfortable  attitude  of  relaxation  which 
women  like  to  assume.  One  foot  rested  on  the  floor;  the 
other  swayed  back  and  forth,  as  though  beating  time,  a 
few  inches  above  the  floor.  It  is  impossible  for  the 
average  man  to  cross  his  knees  in  this  fashion,  just  as 
it  is  impossible  for  a  woman  to  throw  a  ball.  Sitting  thus, 
Faith  began  to  sew.  She  was  outlining  the  petal  of  an 
embroidered  flower;  and  she  gave  this  work  her  whole 
attention. 

She  did  not  look  up  at  Noll.  The  man  finished  his  ex- 
amination of  the  weapon;  he  turned  it  in  his  hand;  he 
lifted  it  and  leveled  it  at  Faith.  Still  Faith  did  not  look 
up;  she  seemed  completely  unconcerned.  Noll  said 
harshly : 

"Faith!" 

She  looked  up  then,  met  his  eyes  fairly,  smiled  a  little. 
"What  is  it,  Noll?" 

"  I'm  going  to  kill  you,"  he  said,  with  stiff  lips. 

"  All  right,"  she  said,  and  bent  her  head  above  her 
sewing  once  more,  disregarding  him. 

Noll  was  stupefied.  .  .  .  This  was  not  surprise;  it  was 
the  helplessness  which  courage  inspires  in  a  coward.  For 
Noll  was  a  coward  in  those  last  days.  .  .  .  His  face 
twisted;  his  hand  was  shaking.  .  .  .  He  stared  over  the 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  241 

revolver  barrel  at  Faith's  brown  head.  Her  hair  was 
parted  in  the  middle,  drawn  back  about  her  face.  The 
white  line  of  skin  where  the  hair  was  parted  fascinated  him ; 
he  could  not  take  his  eyes  from  it.  The  revolver  muzzle 
lowered  without  his  being  conscious  of  this  fact;  the 
weapon  hung  in  his  hand.  .  .  .  His  eyes  were  fixed  on 
Faith's  head,  on  the  part  in  her  hair.  .  .  .  She  wore  an 
old,  tortoise  comb,  stuck  downward  into  the  hair  at  the 
back  of  her  head,  its  top  projecting  upward.  ...  A  sin- 
gular, old-fashioned  little  ornament.  .  .  .  There  was  a 
silver  mounting  on  it;  and  the  light  glistened  on  this  sil- 
ver, and  caught  Noll's  eye,  and  held  it.  ... 

Faith  continued  her  quiet  sewing.  And  Noll's  tense 
muscles,  little  by  little,  relaxed.  .  .  .  His  fingers  loosed 
their  grip  on  the  revolver  butt;  it  dropped  to  the  floor 
with  a  clatter.  The  sound  seemed  to  rouse  Noll ;  he  strode 
toward  Faith.  "By  God,"  he  cried.  "You'll.  .  .  ." 
He  swung  down  a  hand  and  gathered  the  fabric  of  her 
work  between  harsh  fingers.  Her  needle  was  in  the  midst 
of  a  stitch;  it  pricked  him.  .  .  .  He  did  not  feel  the 
tiny  wound.  He  would  have  snatched  the  stuff  out 
of  her  hands.  .  .  .  He  felt  as  though  it  were  defending 
her.  .  .  . 

But  when  his  hand  swept  down  between  hers  and  caught 
the  bit  of  embroidery,  Faith  looked  up  at  him  again,  and 
she  caught  his  eyes.  That  halted  him;  he  stood  for  an 
instant  motionless,  bending  above  her,  their  faces  not  six 
inches  apart.  .  .  .  Then  the  man  jerked  his  hand  away. 
.  .  .  He  released  his  grip  on  the  bit  of  fancy  work;  but 
the  needle  was  deep  in  his  finger,  so  that  he  pulled  it  out 


THE  SEA  BRIDE 

of  the  cloth.  The  thread  followed  it ;  when  his  quick 
movement  drew  the  thread  to  full  length,  the  fabric  was 
jerked  out  of  Faith's  unresisting  hands.  It  dangled  by 
the  thread  from  the  needle  that  stuck  in  Noll's  finger ; 
and  he  saw  it,  and  jerked  the  needle  out  with  a  quick, 
spasmodic  gesture,  and  flung  it  to  one  side.  He  did  not 
look  at  it;  he  was  looking,  still,  at  Faith. 

"  Put  that  away,"  he  said  hoarsely. 

Faith  smiled,  glanced  toward  the  bit  of  white  upon  the 
floor.  "  I'm  afraid  there's  blood  on  it,"  she  said. 

"  Blood  .  .  ."  he  repeated,  under  his  breath. 
"  Blood.  .  .  ."  She  folded  her  hands  quietly  upon  her 
knee,  waiting. 

"  I  want  to  talk  to  you,"  he  said. 

She  nodded.     "  All  right.     Do." 

His  wrath  boiled  through  his  lips  chokingly.  "  You  .  .  .** 
he  stammered.  "  You  and  Brander.  .  .  ." 

Her  eyes,  upon  his,  hardened.  She  said  nothing;  but 
this  hardening  of  her  eyes  was  like  a  defiance.  He  flung 
his  hands  above  his  head.  "  By  God,  you're  shameless,*' 
he  choked.  "  You're  shameless.  ...  A  shameless  woman. 
.  .  .  And  him.  ...  I  took  him  out  of  a  hell  hole.  .  .  . 
And  he  takes  you.  .  .  .  I'll  break  him  in  two  with  my 
hands." 

She  said  nothing;  he  flung  into  an  insanity  of  words. 
He  cursed  her  unspeakably,  with  every  evil  phrase  he  had 
learned  in  close  to  thirty  years  of  the  sea.  He  accused 
her  of  unnamable  things.  .  .  .  His  face  swelled  with  hii 
fury,  the  veins  bulged  upon  his  forehead,  his  eyes  were 
covered  with  a  dry  film.  His  mouth  filled  with  saliva, 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  243 

that  splattered  with  the  venom  of  his  words.  ...  It  ran 
down  his  chin,  so  that  he  brushed  it  away  with  the  back 
of  his  hand.  ...  He  was  uncontrolled,  save  in  one  thing. 
Something  made  him  hush  his  voice;  he  whispered  harshly 
and  chokingly.  .  .  .  What  he  said  could  scarce  have  been 
heard  in  the  main  cabin,  six  feet  away  from  them.  .  .  . 

The  man  was  slavering ;  there  were  flecks  of  foam  upon 
his  lips.  .  .  .  And  Faith  watched  him  in  a  curious  de- 
tachment, as  though  he  were  something  outside  the  world, 
below  it,  beyond  it.  ...  She  scarce  heard  his  words  at 
all ;  she  was  looking  at  the  man's  naked  soul.  ...  It  was 
so  inexpressibly  revolting  that  she  had  no  feeling  that 
this  soul  had  once  been  wedded  to  hers ;  she  could  not  have 
believed  this  if  she  had  tried.  This  was  no  man,  but  a 
beast.  .  .  .  There  could  be  nothing  between  them.  She 
had  married  Noll  Wing;  not  the  body  of  him,  nor  the 
face  of  him,  but  the  soul  within  the  man.  And  this  was 
not  Noll  Wing's  soul  she  saw.  .  .  .  That  was  dead;  this 
horrible  thing  had  bred  festeringly  in  the  carrion.  .  .  . 

Humanity  has  an  immense  capacity  for  rising  to  an 
emergency.  The  human  heart  sustains  a  grief  that  should 
kill ;  it  throws  this  grief  aside  and  is  —  save  for  a  hidden 
scar  —  as  gay  as  it  was  in  the  beginning.  Man  meets 
peril  or  death,  meets  them  unafraid.  ...  If  he  had  con- 
sidered these  emergencies  in  the  calm  and  security  of  his 
home,  his  hair  would  have  crawled  with  terror  at  the 
thought  of  them.  The  imagination  can  conjure  dreadful 
things;  the  heart  and  soul  and  body  of  man  can  endure 
catastrophes  beyond  imagining.  There  is  no  load  too 
heavy  for  this  immortally  designed  fabric  of  flesh  and  blood 


244  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

and  bone  to  bear.  There  is  a  psychological  phenomenon 
that  might  be  called  the  duplication  of  personality.  A 
soldier  in  battle  becomes  two  men.  One  of  these  men  is 
convulsed  with  lust  for  blood;  he  screams,  he  shoots,  he 
stabs,  he  kills.  The  other  is  calm  and  serene ;  he  watches 
the  doings  of  his  other  self,  considers  them  with  calm 
mind,  plans  perilous  combinations  in  the  twinkling  of  an 
eye.  .  .  .  The  soldier  contains  within  himself  a  general 
who  plans,  and  an  army  which  executes  the  plan.  .  .  . 

It  was  so  with  Faith.  She  shrank  in  spirit  and  heart 
before  Noll's  horrible  outpouring;  yet  was  she  at  the 
same  time  steady  and  undisturbed.  There  was  a  numb- 
ness upon  her ;  a  numbness  that  killed  suffering  and  at  the 
same  time  stimulated  thought.  .  .  .  She  was  able  to  per- 
ceive the  very  depths  of  Noll ;  she  looked,  at  the  same 
time,  into  her  own  depths.  .  .  .  She  heard  him  accuse  her 
of  foul  passion  for  Brander;  she  knew,  instead,  that  she 
loved  Brander  completely.  .  .  .  She  had  never  known  her 
love  for  Brander  before;  Noll  showed  it  to  her,  dragged 
it  out  where  she  could  see  it  beyond  mistaking.  .  .  .  And 
even  in  that  moment  she  welcomed  this  love;  welcomed  it, 
and  saw  that  it  was  honest,  and  wholesome,  and  splendid, 
and  clean.  .  .  .  She  welcomed  it,  so  that  she  smiled.  .  .  . 

Her  smile  struck  Noll  like  a  blow  in  the  face,  stunning 
and  sobering  him.  He  flung  out  his  hands. 

"Come!"  he  commanded.  "What  do  you  say?  Say 
something?  Say.  .  .  ." 

"  What  ?  "  she  asked.     "  What  shall  I  say  ?  " 

"  Is  it  true?  Damn  you.  .  .  .  Damn  you.  ...  Is  it 
true?  " 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  245 

"  Could  I  say  anything  you  would  believe?  " 

"No,  by  God!  You're  dirty  and  false  as  hell. 
You.  .  .  ."  He  struck  his  hands  together  helplessly. 
"  Nothing,"  he  cried.  "  Nothing !  Nothing  you  can 
say.  .  .  .  Dirty  as  hell.  .  .  ." 

Yet  his  eyes  still  besought  her  to  speak ;  she  touched 
the  bench  beside  her.  "  Sit  down,  Noll,"  she  said  gently. 

The  man  towered  above  her,  hands  upraised.  His 
fingers  twisted  and  writhed  and  clenched  as  though  upon 
a  soft  throat  that  he  gripped.  His  features  worked  ter- 
ribly. .  .  .  And  then,  before  her  eyes,  a  change  came 
upon  him.  The  tense  muscles  of  his  fury  sagged;  the 
blood  ebbed  from  his  veins,  so  that  they  flattened ;  the 
black  flush  faded  on  his  cheeks.  .  .  .  He  opened  his  mouth 
and  screamed  once,  a  vast  and  stricken  scream  of  a  beast 
in  pain.  It  was  like  the  scream  of  a  frightened,  an- 
guished horse.  ...  It  rang  along  the  length  of  the  Sally, 
so  that  the  men  forward  shrank  and  looked  over  their 
shoulders,  and  every  man  aboard  the  ship  was  still.  .  .  . 

He  screamed,  and  then  his  great  body  shrank  and  col- 
lapsed and  tottered  and  fell.  ...  He  dropped  upon  his 
knees,  at  her  feet.  He  flung  his  head  in  her  lap,  his 
arms  about  her  waist,  clinging  as  a  drowning  man  might 
cling  to  a  rock.  His  cap  dropped  off;  she  saw  his  bald 
old  head  there.  ...  He  sobbed  like  a  child,  his  great 
shoulders  twitching  and  heaving.  .  .  .  His  face  was 
pressed  upon  her  clasped  hands ;  she  felt  his  tears  upon 
her  wrists,  felt  the  slaverings  of  his  sobbing  mouth  upon 
her  fingers.  .  .  . 

He  cried  softly :     "  Eh,  Faith.  .  .  .  Faith.  .  .  .  Don't 


246  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

you  turn  against  me,  now.  I'm  old,  Faith.  .  .  ."  And 
again :  "  I'm  old,  Faith.  .  .  .  Dying,  Faith.  .  .  .  Don't 
leave  me.  .  .  .  Don't  turn  against  me  now." 

She  bent  above  him,  filled  with  an  infinite  pity  and 
sorrow.  This  was  the  wreck  of  her  love;  she  no  longer 
loved  him,  but  her  heart  was  filled  with  sorrow.  .  .  . 
She  bent  forward  and  laid  her  smooth  cheek  against  the 
smooth  parchment  of  his  bald  old  head.  She  loosed  her 
hands,  and  drew  them  out  from  beneath  his  face,  and  laid 
them  on  his  shoulders,  stroking  him  gently. 

"  There,  Noll.  .  .  .  There  .  .  ."  she  murmured.  Fool- 
ish words,  meaningless,  like  the  comforting  sounds  of  an 
inarticulate  animal.  .  .  .  Yet  he  understood.  There  were 
no  words  for  what  was  in  her  heart ;  she  could  only  whis- 
per :  "  There.  .  .  .  There.  .  .  .  There.  .  .  ."  And  gently 
touch  his  shoulders,  and  his  head. 

"  They're  all  against  me,  Faith,"  he  told  her,  over  and 
over.  "  All  against  me.  Even  you.  .  .  ." 

"  No,  no,  Noll.     There.  .  .  ." 

"  You  love  him.  .  .  .  You  love  him." 

"  No,  Noll.  No.  .  .  ."  She  lied,  not  to  deceive  her 
husband,  but  to  comfort  him.  Her  eyes,  above  Noll's 
head,  seemed  to  ask  her  love's  pardon  for  the  lie.  "  No, 
Noll.  .  .  .  You're  my  husband." 

His  arms  tightened  about  her  waist;  his  great  chest 
pressed  against  her  knees.  *'  You're  mine,"  he  begged. 
"  You're  mine.  Don't  go  away  from  me." 

"  No.     Never.  .  .  .  Never,  forever." 

He  raised  his  face  from  her  lap  at  last;  and  she  saw 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  24.7 

that  it  was  sunken  like  the  countenance  of  one  long  dead. 
Cadaverous.  .  .  .  He  cried,  in  utter  self-abasement. 
"  Eh,  Faith.  I  don't  deserve  you.  I'm  an  old,  helpless 
man.  .  .  ." 

She  smiled  at  him.     "  I  married  you,  Noll." 

"  I'm  no  good.     They're  laughing  at  me.  .  .  ." 

Her  eyes  heartened  him.  "  Master  them.  Command 
them.  You  are  the  master,  Noll." 

"  I  can't.  .  .  .  There's  no  strength  in  me.  .  .  ." 

"  It's  there.     Master  them,  Noll." 

"  I  can't  hold  myself,  Faith.  Not  even  myself.  I*m 
rotted  with  whiskey,  and  years,  and  strife.  .  .  ." 

"  Master  yourself,  Noll." 

"  Faith,  Faith.  .  .  .  It's  too  late.     I'm  gone.     I  can't." 

"  You  can,"  she  said.  She  spoke  the  two  words  quietly ; 
yet  somehow  they  gave  him  of  her  strength,  so  that  his 
head  lifted  higher,  and  the  muscles  took  form  beneath  his 
slack  cheeks.  He  stared  into  her  eyes,  as  though  he  were 
drinking  her  soul  through  them;  his  chest  swelled  as 
though  virtue  were  going  into  him.  They  sat  thus,  min- 
utes on  end.  .  .  .  He  got  to  his  feet.  His  eyes  cleared, 
with  the  tempestuous  and  short-lived  fire  of  age  in  their 
depths.  He  swore: 

«  By  God,  Faith.  I  will.  I'll  command.  .  .  .  Myself 
and  them." 

"  You  can,"  she  said  again.  "  You  can.  So  —  do, 
Noll." 

He  turned  away  from  her,  looking  about  with  new 
eyes.  .  .  .  She  smiled  sadly ;  she  knew  him  too  well,  now. 


248  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

.  .  .  She  was  not  surprised  when  his  first  act  was  to  go  to 
the  lockfast  and  get  his  bottle,  and  drink.  .  .  .  He 
smacked  his  lips,  chuckled  at  her. 

"  By  God,  Faith,  I'll  show  these  dogs,"  he  cried,  and 
flung  open  the  door.  She  heard  him  go  out  and  climb 
up  to  the  deck.  .  .  .  She  sat  where  he  had  left  her.  .  .  . 

Sat  there,  and  knew  her  love  for  Brander.  In  those 
minutes  while  she  remained  where  Noll  had  seen  her  last, 
she  listened  to  the  singing  of  new  voices  in  her  heart. 
Brander  was  before  her,  in  'her  eyes,  in  her  thoughts.  .  .  . 
He  possessed  her,  in  that  moment,  more  completely  than 
Noll  had  ever  done.  She  gave  herself  to  him  completely, 
without  reluctance  and  without  faintest  reservation.  No 
need  to  see  him,  no  need  to  tell  him.  She  knew,  he  must 
know.  .  .  .  She  never  asked  whether  he  loved  her;  she 
had  always  known  that.  Known  it  without  admitting 
the  knowledge,  even  in  her  thoughts.  She  loved  him, 
body  and  heart  and  soul;  her  eyes  yearned  for  his,  her 
tongue  to  tell  him  what  her  heart  was  singing,  her  arms 
to  embrace  him.  .  .  . 

She  got  up,  at  last,  a  little  wearily.  ...  It  was  only 
a  matter  of  minutes  that  she  sat  there,  looking  within 
herself.  When  she  listened,  now,  she  could  hear  Noll's 
voice,  on  deck,  roaring  in  the  old  way.  .  .  .  Once  she 
heard  Brander  answer  him,  from  somewhere  amidships. 
Again  she  caught  the  murmur  of  Dan'l  Tobey's  tones.  .  .  . 

Brander  was  her  love ;  but  Noll.  .  .  .  Noll  was  her  hus- 
band, she  his  wife.  And  Faith  passed  her  hand  across 
her  eyes  as  though  to  wipe  away  these  visions  she  had 
looked  upon.  Noll  was  her  husband;  her  vows  were  his. 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  249 

She  was  his,  and  would  be.  ...  Nothing  he  could  do 
would  make  her  less  his;  he  was  in  her  keeping,  his  life 
and  hers  could  never  take  diverging  paths.  He  was  her 
charge,  to  strengthen,  and  guide,  and  support;  his  tasks 
were  hers,  his  responsibilities  were  her  responsibilities,  his 
burdens  must  rest  upon  her  shoulders.  .  .  . 

But  she  did  not  deceive  herself.  Old  Noll  was  dead, 
old  Noll  Wing  who  had  mastered  men  for  year  on  year. 
That  Noll  was  dead;  the  Noll  who  lived  was  a  weakling. 
But  she  was  a  part  of  the  living  Noll;  and  she  was  no 
weakling.  So.  .  .  . 

Her  lips  set  faintly.  Love  Brander  though  she  did, 
there  was  no  place  for  him  in  her  life.  Her  life  was  Noll ; 
her  life  belonged  to  Noll.  Noll  was  failing;  his  flesh 
might  live,  but  his  soul  was  dead  and  his  strength  was 
gone.  His  tasks  fell  upon  her. 

Quite  simply,  in  that  moment,  Faith  promised  herself 
that  whatever  happened,  the  Sally  Sims  should  come  safe 
home  again ;  that  no  man  should  ever  say  Noll  Wing  had 
failed  in  the  end;  that  no  man  should  ever  make  a  jest 
of  Noll's  old  renown.  And  if  Noll  could  not  manage 
these  things  for  himself,  she  would.  .  .  . 

She  began,  suddenly,  to  cry;  she  locked  herself  in  her 
cabin  and  wept  bitterly  for  hours.  .  .  .  But  afterward, 
bathing  her  eyes,  freshening  herself  to  meet  Noll's  eyes, 
she  looked  into  the  mirror,  and  smiled  and  lifted  her  head. 
"  You  can  do  it,  Faith,"  she  told  herself.  "  You  can  do 
it,  full  as  well  as  he." 

And  then,  more  seriously :  "  You  must,  Faith  Wing. 
You  must  bring  the  Sally  home." 


250  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

When  she  stepped  out  into  the  after  cabin,  she  saw  the 
revolver  still  on  the  floor  where  Noll  had  left  it.  She 
picked  it  up  to  return  it  to  its  proper  drawer.  .  .  . 

But  on  second  thought,  she  changed  her  mind,  and  took 
it  and  hid  it  in  her  bunk. 


XXV 

A  CURIOUS  lull  settled  down  upon  the  Sally  Sims 
during  the  days  after  Noll's  open  accusation  of 
Faith,  and  his  collapse  before  her  steady  cour- 
age.    There  was    an   apathy  in  the   air;   they   saw   few 
whales,  lowered  for  them  without  zeal,  missed  more  than 
one  that  should  have  been  killed.  .  .  .  There  was  a  silence 
upon  the  ship,  like  the  hush  of  listening  men  who  wait  to 
hear  an  expected  call.     This  paralysis  gripped  every  soul 
aboard  —  save  Noll  Wing  alone. 

Noll,  in  those  last  days,  stalked  his  deck  like  a  parody 
of  the  man  he  once  had  been.  Faith  had  put  a  fictitious 
courage  in  the  man;  he  thought  himself  once  more  the 
master,  as  in  the  past.  His  heels  pounded  the  planks; 
his  head  was  high;  his  voice  roared.  .  .  .  But  there  was 
a  tremor  in  his  stride;  there  was  a  trembling  about  the 
poise  of  him ;  there  was  a  cracking  quaver  in  his  voice. 
He  was  like  a  child  who  plays  at  being  a  man.  .  .  .  They 
humored  him ;  the  men  and  the  mates  seemed  to  enter  into 
a  conspiracy  to  humor  him.  They  leaped  to  his  bidding; 
they  shrank  from  his  curses  as  though  desperate  with 
fear.  .  .  .  And  Noll  was  so  delighted  with  all  this  that 
he  was  perpetually  good-natured,  jovial.  .  .  . 

He  was,  of  course,  drinking  heavily  and  steadily;  but 
the  drink  seemed  to  hearten  him  and  give  him  strength. 
Certainly  it  made  him  lenient;  for  on  three  occasions 

251 


252  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

when  the  men  found  a  bottle,  forward,  and  befuddled 
themselves  with  it,  Noll  only  laughed  as  though  at  a 
capital  jest.  Noll  laughed.  .  .  .  But  Faith  wondered  and 
was  distressed  and  watched  to  see  how  the  liquor  was 
being  stolen.  She  was  disturbed  and  alarmed;  but  Noll 
laughed  at  her  fears. 

"  A  little  of  it  never  hurt  a  man,"  he  told  her  boast- 
fully. "  Look  at  me,  to  see  that.  Let  be,  Faith.  Let 
be." 

When  she  protested,  he  overrode  her ;  and  to  show  his 
own  certainty  of  himself,  he  did  a  thing  that  Noll  sober 
would  never  have  done.  He  had  the  rum  drawn  from  the 
barrel  in  his  storeroom  and  served  out  to  the  men,  a  ra- 
tion daily.  ...  It  amused  him  to  see  the  men  half  fud- 
dled with  it.  He  forced  it  on  them ;  and  once,  while  Faith 
watched  hopelessly,  he  commanded  a  hulking  Cape  Verder 
—  the  biggest  man  in  the  fo'c's'le  —  to  drink  a  bout  with 
him.  They  took  glass  for  glass,  till  the  other  was  help- 
less as  a  log;  and  Noll  vaunted  his  own  prowess  in  the 
matter. 

Dan'l  Tobey  contented  himself  with  the  progress  of 
these  matters ;  he  no  longer  stuck  a  finger  in  the  pie. 
Noll  was  going;  that  was  plain  to  any  seeing  eye.  The 
captain  grew  weaker  every  day ;  his  skin  yellowed  and 
parched,  and  the  lower  lids  of  his  eyes  sagged  down  and 
revealed  the  flaming  red  of  their  inner  surface.  These 
sagging  lower  lids  made  crescent-shaped  pockets  which 
were  forever  filled  with  rheumy  fluid.  .  .  .  Noll  was  an 
ugly  thing ;  and  his  perpetual  mirth,  his  cackling  laughter 
were  the  more  horrible.  .  .  .  He  was  a  laughing  corpse; 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  253 

dissolution  was  upon  him.     But  he  kept  himself  so  steeped 
with  alcohol  he  did  not  feel  its  pangs. 

Faith  could  do  nothing;  Brander  could  do  nothing. 
Between  these  two,  no  further  word  had  passed.  But 
there  was  no  need.  Meeting  face  to  face  on  deck,  the 
day  after  Noll  surprised  them,  their  eyes  met  in  a  long 
and  steady  glance.  .  .  .  Their  eyes  met  and  spoke ;  and 
after  that  there  was  no  need  of  words  between  them. 
There  was  a  pledging  of  vows  in  that  glance;  there  was 
also  a  renunciation.  Both  saw,  both  understood.  .  .  . 
Faifh  thought  she  knew  Brander  to  the  depths.  .  .  . 

Neither,  in  that  moment,  knew  that  Dan'l  Tobey  was 
at  hand ;  but  the  mate  had  seen,  and  he  had  understood. 
He  saw,  slipped  away,  held  his  peace,  considered. 

Brander  was  fighting  for  Roy,  to  fulfill  his  pledge  to 
Faith.  He  had  set  himself  to  win  the  boy's  confidence  and 
esteem;  he  applied  himself  to  this  with  all  the  strength 
there  was  in  him.  Yet  he  was  careful;  he  did  not  force 
the  issue ;  he  did  not  harass  Roy  with  his  attentions.  .  .  . 
He  held  off,  let  Roy  see  for  himself,  think.  .  .  .  There 
were  days  when  he  thought  he  made  some  progress ;  there 
were  days  when  he  thought  the  effort  was  a  hopeless  one. 
Nevertheless,  he  persisted.  .  .  . 

Noll  Wing's  good  will,  in  those  days,  extended  even  to 
Brander.  He  offered  Brander  a  drink  one  day.  .  .  . 
Brander  refused,  and  Noll  insisted.  .  .  .  And  was  still 
refused.  Noll  said  hotly,  querulously : 

"  Come,  Brander.  .  .  .  Don't  be  stiff,  man.  It  will 
warm  you,  do  you  good.  .  .  .  You're  needing  warming. 
You're  over  cold  and  calm." 


254  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

Brander  shook  his  head,  smiling.     "  Thanks ;  no,  sir." 

"  Damn  it,  man,"  Noll  complained.  "  Are  you  too 
proud  to  drink  with  the  skipper?  " 

Brander  refused  again ;  and  Noll's  brows  gathered  sus- 
piciously. "Why  not?" 

"  My  wish,  sir." 

"  YeVe  a  grudge  against  me.  I  remember.  .  .  .  You 
stick  with  Mauger.  .  .  ." 

"  No,  sir." 

'Noll  flung  out  his  hand.  "  Be  off.  Your  sour  face 
is  too  ugly  for  me  to  look  at.  Mauger's  none  so  par- 
ticular. .  .  .  He'll  drink  with  me." 

It  was  true ;  Mauger  had  more  than  once  accepted  drink 
from  Noll.  Noll,  at  these  times,  watched  the  one-eyed 
man  furtively,  almost  appealingly.  It  was  as  though  he 
sought  to  placate  him  and  make  a  friend  of  him.  Mauger 
had  a  weak  head ;  he  was  not  one  to  stand  much  liquor. 
It  dizzied  him ;  and  this  amused  Noll.  .  .  .  This  day, 
after  Brander  had  refused  him,  Noll  sent  for  Mauger  and 
made  the  one-eyed  man  tipsy,  and  laughed  at  the  jest  of 
it. 

Then,  one  day,  this  state  of  affairs  came  abruptly  to  an 
end.  Noll  went  down  into  the  storeroom  to  fill  his  bottle; 
and  the  spigot  on  the  whiskey  barrel  gasped  and  failed. 
The  whiskey  was  gone. 

Now  Noll  had  given  of  the  rum  to  the  crew;  he  had 
exhausted  that.  But  the  whiskey  he  kept  jealously.  He 
knew  there  should  be  more.  .  .  .  Much  more  than  this. 
.  .  .  Gallons,  at  the  least.  .  .  .  He  turned  the  handle  of 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  355 

the  spigot  again,  tipped  the  barrel,  unable  to  understand. 
.  .  .  His  bottle  was  half  full.  .  .  .  But  no  more  came.  .  .  . 

He  frowned,  puzzled  his  heavy  head,  tried  to  under- 
stand. ...  He  came  stumbling  up  out  of  the  storeroom 
at  last,  with  the  half-filled  bottle  in  his  hand.  .  .  .  And 
the  man's  face  was  white.  He  sought  Faith,  held  the 
bottle  out  to  her. 

"  I  say  .  .  ."  he  stammered.  "  It's  gone.  .  .  .  Gone, 
by  God.  .  .  .» 

Faith  asked  sharply:     "What  is  it,  Noll?  " 

K  The  whiskey's  gone." 

Faith  cried :     "  Thank  God ! " 

He  stared  at  her  thickly.  "  Eh?  You  had  a  hand  in 
it.  ...  You've  stole  it  away.  .  .  ." 

"  No." 

He  looked  at  her  and  knew  she  spoke  the  truth.  He 
shook  his  head.  ..."  Some  hound  .  .  ."  he  whispered. 
*  They've  stole  it.  .  .  ." 

She  questioned  him ;  he  had  the  shrewdness  which  occa- 
sionally characterizes  the  alcoholic.  He  had  kept  some 
count  of  the  whiskey  used  during  the  cruise ;  he  had  him- 
self handled  the  barrel  two  weeks  before.  It  was  then 
a  quarter  full.  The  thefts  that  had  appeared  in  the 
fo'c's'le  could  not  account  for  the  rest.  There  was  still 
a  considerable  amount  that  had  been  stolen,  that  had  not 
yet  appeared.  "  It's  aboard  here,  by  God,"  he  swore 
at  last.  "  They've  got  it  hid  away.  You,  Faith.  .  .  ." 

She  shook  her  head.  He  said  placatingly :  "  No,  you'd 
not  do  that  trick.  Not  rob  an  old  man.  .  .  .  I've  got  to 


256  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

have  it,  Faith.  .  .  ."  His  eyes  suddenly  flickered  with 
panic.  "  It's  life,  Faith.  Life.  I've  got  to  have  it,  I 
say.  .  .  .» 

He  was  right,  she  knew.  There  must  still  be  a  hidden 
store  of  the  liquor  aboard  the  Sally.  .  .  .  To  be  doled  out 
to  the  men  by  the  thief  in  his  own  good  time.  .  .  .  And 
Faith  knew  enough  of  such  matters  to  understand  that 
Noll,  without  the  ration  of  alcohol  to  which  he  was  accus- 
tomed, would  suffer  torment,  would  be  like  a  madman. 
.  .  .  The  stuff  must  be  found.  .  .  . 

Noll  was  already  trembling  at  the  prospect  of  depriva- 
tion ;  he  hugged  to  his  breast  the  scant  store  that  re- 
mained to  him.  .  .  .  And  of  a  sudden,  as  though  afraid 
even  this  would  be  stolen,  he  tipped  the  bottle  to  his  lips. 
He  gulped  greedily.  .  .  .  Before  Faith  could  interfere, 
the  last  of  it  was  gone.  .  .  . 

That  fierce  draught  put  some  strength  and  courage  back 
into  him ;  he  stamped  his  feet.  "  I'll  make  them  give  it 
up,  by  God,"  he  swore.  "  Watch.  .  .  ." 

He  started  for  the  deck ;  and  Faith,  afraid  for  him,  fol- 
lowed quietly  behind.  Passing  through  the  main  cabin, 
he  roared  to  the  officers  who  were  asleep  in  their  bunks: 
"  On  deck,  all  hands.  .  .  .  Cki  deck,  all  hands.  .  .  ." 
They  leaped  out  to  obey  him,  not  knowing  what  to  expect. 
He  reached  the  deck,  still  bellowing:  "  On  deck,  all.  On 
deck,  every  man  of  you.  .  .  ."  Brander  was  amidships ; 
and  he  called:  "  Rout  out  the  dogs,  Mr.  Brander.  Fetch 
them  aft." 

The  men  came ;  they  tumbled  up  from  the  fo'c's'le ;  they 
slid  down  from  the  mastheads.  .  .  .  Harpooners,  mates, 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  257 

under  officers  grouped  themselves  by  the  captain ;  the  crew 
faced  him  in  a  huddled  group.  He  cursed  them,  man  by 
man,  for  thieving  dogs.  "  Now,"  he  swore  at  last.  "  Now 
some  one  o'  you  has  got  the  stuff  hid  away.  Out  with  it ; 
or  I'll  cut  the  heart  out  of  you." 

He  paused,  looking  about  him  with  flickering,  reddened 
eyes.  No  man  stirred,  but  Dan'l  Tobey  asked : 

"  What's  wrong,  Cap'n  Wing?  " 

Noll  told  him,  told  them  all,  profanely.  Somewhere 
there  was  hidden  a  store  of  whiskey ;  he  meant  to  have  it. 
If  the  thief  gave  it  up,  so  much  the  better.  He  would  get 
off  with  a  rope's  ending.  If  he  persisted  in  silence,  he 
would  die.  .  .  .  Noll  vowed  that  by  all  the  oaths  he  knew. 

The  men  stirred ;  they  looked  at  their  neighbors.  .  .  . 
And  then  their  eyes  fastened  on  the  captain,  with  a  curious 
intentness.  They  licked  their  lips;  and  Faith  thought 
they  were  enjoying  this  spectacle  of  Noll's  weak  rage.  .  .  . 
She  thought  they  were  like  dogs  of  a  pack,  with  hungry 
eyes,  watching  the  futile  anger  of  a  dying  man.  .  .  .  She 
was  afraid  of  them  for  an  instant ;  then  she  was  afraid  of 
no  man  in  the  world.  .  .  .  She  stood  by  Noll  Wing's  side, 
proud  and  level-eyed. 

When  Noll  got  no  answer,  his  cackling  fury  waxed.  He 
swore  every  man  of  them  should  be  tied  up  and  flogged 
unless  the  guilty  spoke.  They  scowled  at  that;  and  one 
of  them  said  sullenly : 

"  It's  no  man  forra'd  a-doing  this,  sir.  .  .  .  Look  aft, 
at  them  that  had  the  chance." 

The  word  seemed  to  focus  the  sullen  hate  among  the 


258  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

men ;  they  growled  like  beasts,  and  surged  a  step  forward. 
Brander,  from  the  captain's  side,  moved  toward  them  and 
lashed  at  him  who  had  spoken  with  a  swift  fist,  so  that  the 
man  fell  and  lay  still  as  a  log.  Brander  looked  down  at 
the  still  man,  faced  the  others.  "  Be  silent,"  he  said 
quietly.  "  Unless  you've  a  word  to  say  to  the  captain 
about  what  he  wants.  And  get  back.  .  .  .  Back  into  the 
waist ;  and  stay.  .  .  ." 

They  gave  back  before  him ;  and  Dan'l  said  softly  from 
Brander's  back:  "They  mind  you  well,  Mr.  Brander. 
You've  a  rare  control  of  them."  The  words  were  innocent 
enough,  but  the  tone  was  accusation.  Brander  faced  the 
mate,  and  Dan'l  grinned  malignantly.  .  .  . 

Noll  passed  abruptly  from  threats  to  pleadings ;  he 
tried  to  cloak  his  pleading  under  a  mask  of  fellowship ;  he 
spoke  to  the  men  as  to  friends,  beseeching  them  to  yield 
what  he  wanted.  They  remained  silent ;  and  his  mask  fell 
off,  and  he  abased  himself  before  them  with  his  words,  so 
that  old  Tichel  and  Willis  Cox  were  sickened,  and  Dan'l 
was  pleased.  Brander  made  no  sign;  he  stood  loyally  at 
the  captain's  side;  and  Faith  was  on  Noll's  other 
hand.  .  .  . 

She  was  studying  the  faces  of  the  men  and  of  the  officers, 
seeking  for  a  shadow  of  guilt.  The  men  were  sullen ;  but 
there  was  no  shame  in  their  eyes.  There  was  nothing  fur- 
tive —  save  in  the  countenance  of  Mauger.  The  one-eyed 
man  had  ever  a  furtive  look;  the  twitching  of  his  closed 
eye  irresistibly  suggested  a  malignant  wink.  Faith 
watched  him ;  she  saw  his  eyes  were  fixed  on  Brander.  .  .  . 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  259 

In  spite  of  herself,  a  cold  pang  of  doubt  touched  her.  .  .  . 
Mauger  had  reason  to  hate  Noll  Wing.  .  .  .  Had 
he?  .  .  . 

She  put  the  thought  away,  to  study  Dan'l  Tobey.  But 
Dan'l,  though  he  was  obviously  content  with  matters,  had 
no  trace  of  guilt  or  fear  in  his  demeanor.  He  was  per- 
fectly assured,  almost  triumphant.  Faith  thought  he 
could  not  appear  so  if  he  were  the  thief.  .  .  .  Not  Dan'l ; 
not  Willis  Cox,  nor  Tichel.  .  .  .  Not  Brander ;  she  would 
not  have  it  so.  ... 

Yet  she  could  not  keep  her  eyes  away  from  Mauger's 
leering,  chuckling,  furtive  countenance.  .  .  . 

Abruptly,  she  touched  Noll's  arm.  The  captain  was 
near  a  collapse.  .  .  .  He  was  pleading  helplessly,  so  that 
some  of  the  men  were  beginning  to  grin.  Faith  touched 
his  arm  ;  she  said  quietly : 

"  Noll,  do  not  beg.     You  are  master." 

He  caught  himself  together  with  a  terrific  effort.  .  .  . 
He  turned  and  stumbled  away  down  into  the  cabin,  Faith 
after  him.  Dan'l  came  down  a  little  later,  respectful.  .  .  . 
"  Why  not  put  into  port  somewhere,  sir?  "  he  suggested. 
"  Get  what  you  want.  .  .  ." 

Noll  clutched  at  that  desperately.  ..."  Aye,  quick, 
Mr.  Tobey.  What's  nearest?  " 

Dan'l  named  the  nearest  island  where  they  were  like  to 
find  a  trading  post;  Noll  nodded.  "  Put  for  it,  Dan'l. 
All  sail  on.  For  God's  sake,  quickly,  man  !  " 

Ten  minutes  later,  the  Sally  heeled  to  a  new  tack.  .  .  . 
And  Noll,  with  Faith,  below  in  the  cabin,  bit  at  his  nails, 
and  tried  to  hold  himself,  and  stifle  the  appetite  that  was 


260  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

tearing  him.  His  passion  and  pleading  had  burned  out 
the  effects  of  the  drink  he  had  taken ;  his  body  agonized 
for  more.  .  .  . 

By  nightfall,  Noll  was  shaking  with  an  ague.  He  would 
not  sleep  that  night.  And  toward  dawn,  a  brewing  gale 
caught  the  Sally.  .  .  . 

She  fought  that  storm  till  noon,  giving  way  before  it; 
and  in  the  cabin  Noll  passed  from  tremors  to  paroxysms 
of  fright.  He  gnawed  at  his  own  flesh ;  and  hallucinations 
began  to  prey  upon  him.  Faith  fought  him,  bade  him  lie 
down,  tried  to  soothe  him.  She  knew  the  danger  of  his 
enforced  abstinence;  she  gave  him  a  draught  that  should 
have  compelled  sleep ;  but  after  an  hour  he  woke  with  a 
scream,  and  clutched  at  her  shoulders  with  fingers  that  bit 
the  flesh,  and  flung  her  away  from  him,  and  cowered  in  the 
most  distant  corner,  hands  before  him,  shrieking: 

"  Back,  Mauger  I  Get  away.  .  .  .  You  devil !  Mau- 
ger,  get  back.  .  .  .  Eh,  man,  get  away.  .  .  .  By  God, 
I'll  ...  I  never  meant  the  kick,  man.  .  .  .  Let  be.  .  .  . 
My  God,  let  be.  .  .  ." 

She  called  softly:  "It's  Faith,  Noll.  It's  Faith, 
Faith.  .  .  .  Not  Mauger.  .  .  ." 

He  recognized  her,  and  ran  and  caught  her  and  swung 
her  around  before  him  and  besought  her  to  keep  Mauger 
and  his  knife  away.  She  told  him,  over  and  over :  "  He's 
not  here,  Noll.  He's  not  here.  It's  Faith.  .  .  ." 

He  cried :  "  Look  at  his  knife.  .  .  ."  He  pointed 
horribly.  "  His  knife.  .  .  .  It's  red,  now.  .  .  .  Look  at 
the  knife.  Kill  him,  Faith.  .  .  .  Drive  him  away.  .  .  ." 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  261 

She  held  him  against  her  breast  as  she  would  have  held 
a  child.  Brander  came  to  the  door,  with  Willis  Cox.  She 
called  to  them :  "  Stay  away.  .  .  .  He's  mine.  I'll  tend 
him."  Noll  saw  them,  and  screamed  at  Brander: 

"  There !     Him  !     There's  a  knife  in  his  sleeve.  .  .  ." 

Brander  slipped  out  of  sight;  she  managed  to  quiet 
Noll  for  a  space;  but  he  broke  out  again:  "Mauger! 
He's  coming,  Faith.  .  .  .  There.  .  .  ."  And  then,  to  the 
man  he  thought  he  saw:  "Mauger!  Get  back,  man. 
Let  be.  ...  God's  sake.  .  .  ." 

Then  he  wept  whisperingly  to  Faith :  "  See  his  eye ! 
Down  on  his  cheek.  .  .  .  Hanging.  .  .  .  Make  him  put  it 
back  —  where  it  belongs.  .  .  .  Mauger,  man.  .  .  ." 

Bit  by  bit  she  wooed  him  back  to  sanity,  or  the  sem- 
blance of  it.  He  was  quiet  when  Dan'l  Tobey  came  down ; 
and  when  he  saw  Dan'l,  Noll  demanded : 

"Are  we  making  it,  Dan'l?     Arc  we  near  there?  .  .  ." 

Dan'l  shook  his  head.  "  Not  with  this  gale,  sir.  .  .  . 
We're  going  away.  .  .  ." 

Noll  came  to  his  feet,  cat-like.  "  By  God,  you're  all 
cowards.  I'll  bring  her  in.  I'll  bring  her  in,  I  say.  .  .  ." 
He  shook  Faith  away,  went  up  to  the  deck  with  Dan'l  at 
his  heels.  The  Sally,  riding  high  as  whalers  do,  was  rea- 
sonably dry ;  but  she  was  fighting  desperately  in  the  gale, 
racking  her  rigging.  The  wind  seemed  to  clear  Noll's 
head;  he  looked  about,  aloft.  .  .  .  Bellowed  an  order  to 
get  sail  on  her.  .  .  . 

Faith  protested :     "  Noll,  she'll  never  stand.  .  .  ." 

He  brushed  her  away  with  clenched  fist.     She  took  shel- 


262  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

ter  in  a  corner  by  the  deckhouse,  ten  feet  from  him.  .  .  . 
And  Noll  Wing  took  the  ship,  and  under  his  hand  the  Sally 
did  miracles.  .  .  . 

That  fight  with  the  storm  was  a  thing  men  still  talk 
about ;  they  say  it  was  an  inhuman  and  a  marvelous  thing. 
Noll  stood  aft,  legs  braced,  scorning  a  hand  hold.  His 
voice  rang  through  the  singing  wind  to  the  remotest  cor- 
ner of  the  Sally,  and  the  highest  spar.  Regardless  of 
wind  and  sea,  he  crowded  on  sail,  and  brought  her  around 
to  the  course  he  wished  to  take,  and  drove  her  into  it.  ... 
Time  and  time  again,  during  that  afternoon  and  that  long 
night,  every  sane  man  aboard  thought  her  very  masts  must 
be  torn  out  of  her.  Three  times  a  sail  did  go;  but  Noll 
would  never  slacken.  On  the  after  deck,  he  raved  like  a 
madman,  but  his  commands  were  seamanly.  ...  A  miracle 
of  seamanship,  stark  madness.  .  .  .  But  madness  that  suc- 
ceeded. The  Sally  drove  into  the  gale,  she  fought  as 
madly  as  Noll  himself  was  fighting.  .  .  .  And  Noll,  aft, 
screamed  through  the  night,  and  drove  them  on. 

Faith  never  left  her  post,  so  near  him.  No  man  aboard 
had  sleep  that  night.  No  man  dared  sleep,  lest  death  find 
him  in  his  dreams.  Willis  Cox  and  Tichel  came  to  Noll 
more  than  once,  beseeching.  .  .  .  But  he  drove  them  away. 
Dan'l  never  interfered  with  the  captain;  it  seemed  there 
was  a  madness  on  him,  too.  And  Brander  and  Dan'l 
Tobey  between  them  were  Noll's  right  hand  and  his  left, 
driving  the  men  to  the  tasks  Noll  set  them,  holding  them 
sternly  in  hand.  .  .  . 

They  could  only  guess  how  far  they  had  come  through 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  263 

the  darkness.  An  hour  before  daylight,  Dan'l  stopped  to 
gasp  to  Faith:  "We're  near  there,  I'm  thinking.  If 
we're  not  nearer  the  bottom.  .  .  ."  Brander  took  more 
practical  steps;  he  found  Mauger,  and  set  the  one-eyed 
man  well  forward,  and  bade  him  watch  and  listen  for  first 
sign  of  land.  Mauger  nodded  chucklingly;  he  gripped  a 
hold  on  the  taut  lines,  and  set  his  one  eye  into  the  dark- 
ness, and  tuned  his  ear  to  the  storm.  .  .  . 

The  wind,  by  this  time,  was  moderating;  even  Faith 
could  feel  a  slackening  of  the  pressure  of  it  that  had  torn 
at  her  garments  the  night  through.  She  was  weak  with 
fighting  it ;  nevertheless  she  held  her  post.  And  the  steady, 
thrust  of  the  g;?le  slowly  modified  and  gave  way.  .  .  .  The 
first  hints  of  light  showed  in  the  skies.  .  .  .  They  caught 
glimpses  of  scudding  clouds,  low  overhead.  .  .  .  But  the 
worst  was  passed ;  and  every  man  knew  it.  Noll,  still 
standing  like  a  colossus  at  his  post,  knew  it ;  and  lie  shook 
his  fist  at  the  skies  and  the  sea,  and  he  cursed  the  wind 
and  dared  it.  ...  Faith  could  see  him,  dimly,  in  the 
coming  light.  .  .  .  Head  bare,  eyes  frantic,  cheeks  sunken. 
.  .  .  An  enormous,  but  a  wasted  figure  of  a  man.  .  .  . 

The  very  waters  about  them  were  quieting  somewhat. 
.  .  .  Their  nerves  and  their  muscles  relaxed ;  they  were 
straining  their  eyes  to  see  into  the  dimness  of  the  coming 
day.  .  .  . 

It  was  Mauger,  in  the  bows,  who  caught  first  hint  of 
danger.  He  saw  that  they  drove  abruptly  from  long- 
rolling  swells  into  quieter  w-aters.  .  .  .  He  stared  off  to 
windward,  looking  to  see  what  had  broken  the  force  of  the 


264  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

seas.  .  .  .  Saw  nothing ;  but  thought  he  heard  a  rumbling 
roar  there.  .  .  .  Looked  forward,  where  the  less  turbulent 
waters  were  piling  ahead  of  them.  .  .  . 

Looked  forward,  and  glimpsed  a  line  of  white  that  lived 
and  never  died ;  and  he  turned  and  streamed  a  warning  aft. 
.  .  .  Ran,  to  carry  the  word  himself.  .  .  .  Screaming  as 
he  ran.  .  .  . 

Brander,  amidships,  heard  him  and  shouted  to  Noll 
Wing;  but  Noll  did  not  hear.  The  captain  was  intoxi- 
cated with  the  long  battle ;  he  was  delirious  with  the  cry 
of  tortured  nerves  and  starved  body.  .  .  .  He  did  not  hear. 
Mauger  flashed  past  Brander  as  he  ran.  .  .  .  The  one- 
eyed  man's  screams  were  inarticulate  now.  .  .  .  Too  late, 
in  any  case.  .  .  . 

Noll  saw  Mauger  coming ;  and  he  put  up  his  hands ;  and 
his  eyes  glared.  He  shrieked  with  overwhelming  terror. 
.  .  .  Mauger  flung  on.  Then  the  Sally's  bows  drove  on 
the  solid  sand;  Mauger  sprawled;  men  everywhere  fell 
headlong.  Noll  was  thrown  back  against  the  after 
rail.  .  .  . 

Mauger  rolled  over  and  over  where  he  fell ;  and  it 
chanced  that  his  sheath  knife  dropped  out  in  the  fall,  and 
touched  his  hand.  He  had  it  in  his  fingers  when  he  scram- 
bled to  his  feet,  still  intent  on  bearing  his  warning.  He 
had  the  knife  in  his  hand,  he  leaped  toward  the  wheel.  .  .  . 
He  did  not  realize  it  was  too  late  to  swerve  the  Sally.  .  .  . 
Toward  the  wheel,  knife  in  hand,  forgetting  knife  and  Noll 
Wing.  .  .  . 

To  Noll's  eyes,  Mauger  must  have  looked  like  a  charg- 
ing fiend;  he  saw  the  knife.  He  screamed  again,  and 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  265 

turned  and  flung  himself  in  desperate  flight  but  over  the 
after  rail. 

He  was  instantly  gone.  Perhaps  the  undertow,  per- 
haps some  creature  of  the  sea,  perhaps  the  fates  that  had 
hung  over  him  struck  then.  But  those  aboard  the  Sally 
Sims  were  never  to  see  Noll  Wing,  nor  Noll's  dead  body, 
again. 


XXVI 

D^WN  came  abruptly;  a  lowering  dawn,  with 
gray  and  greasy  clouds  racing  past  so  low  they 
seemed  to  scrape  and  tear  themselves  upon  the 
tips  of  the  masts.  No  sun  showed;  there  was  no  light  in 
the  sky.  The  dawn  was  evidenced  only  by  a  lessening  of 
the  blackness  of  the  night.  They  could  see ;  there  was  no 
fog,  but  a  steady  rain  sprang  up,  and  clouded  objects  at 
a  little  distance.  .  .  . 

This  rain  had  one  good  effect ;  it  beat  down  the  turbu- 
lence of  the  waves.  Faith,  from  the  bow,  could  see  that 
they  had  grounded  upon  a  sandy  beach  which  spread  like  a 
crescent  to  right  and  left.  The  tips  of  the  crescent  were 
rocky  points  which  sheltered  the  Sally  from  the  force  of 
the  seas.  She  was  not  pounding  upon  the  sand;  she  lay 
where  she  had  struck,  heeled  a  little  to  one  side.  .  .  . 
There  were  breakers  about  her  and  ahead  of  her  upon  the 
sand ;  but  these  were  not  dangerous.  They  were  caused 
by  the  reflex  tumult  of  the  waters,  stirred  up  in  this  shel- 
tered bay  in  sympathy  with  the  storm  outside. 

That  gale  was  dying,  now.  Above  them  the  wind  still 
raced  and  played  with  the  flying  clouds ;  but  there  was  no 
pressure  of  it  upon  what  little  canvas  the  Sally  still  flew. 
They  were  at  peace.  .  .  . 

At  peace.  Faith,  studying  the  position  of  the  Sally, 
was  herself  at  peace.  This  was  her  first  reaction  to  her 

husband's  death;  she  was  at  peace.     Noll  was  gone,  Noll 

266 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  267 

Wing  whom  she  had  loved  and  married.  .  .  .  Poor  Noll ; 
she  pitied  him ;  she  was  conscious  of  a  still-living  affection 
for  him.  .  .  .  There  was  no  hate  in  her ;  there  was  little 
sorrow.  ...  He  was  gone ;  but  life  had  burdened  him  too 
long.  He  was  well  rid  of  it,  she  thought.  .  .  .  Well  rid 
of  his  tormented  flesh;  well  rid  of  the  terror  which  had 
pursued  him.  .  .  . 

When  Noll  went  over  the  stern,  Dan'l  Tobey  appeared 
from  nowhere,  and  saw  Mauger  with  the  knife  in  his  hand, 
standing  paralyzed  with  horror.  Dan'l  fell  upon  Mauger, 
fists  flying.  .  .  .  He  downed  the  little  man,  dropped  on 
him  with  both  knees,  gripped  for  his  throat.  .  .  .  Then 
Brander,  coming  from  the  waist  of  the  ship  on  Mauger's 
heels,  caught  Dan'l  by  the  collar  and  jerked  him  to  his 
feet.  Dan'l's  hands,  clenched  on  Mauger's  throat,  lifted 
the  little  man  a  foot  from  the  deck  before  they  let  go  to 
grip  for  Brander.  The  men  clustered  aft;  old  Tichel's 
teeth  bared.  ...  In  another  moment,  there  would  have 
been  a  death-battle  astir  upon  the  littered  decks. 

But  Faith  cried  through  the  gloom :  "  Dan'l.  Mr. 
Brander.  Drop  it.  Stand  away." 

There  was  a  command  in  her  clear  tones  which  Dan'l 
must  have  obeyed;  and  Brander  did  as  she  bade  instinc- 
tively. The  two  still  faced  each  other,  heads  forward, 
shoulders  lowered.  .  .  .  Behind  Brander,  Mauger  crawled 
to  his  feet,  choking  and  fumbling  at  his  throat.  Faith 
said  to  Dan'l : 

"  It  was  not  the  fault  of  Mauger,  Dan'l." 

"  He  had  a  knife.  .  .  ." 

"  He  fell,"  she  said.     "  I  saw.     He  fell  when  she  struck ; 


268  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

his  knife  dropped  from  its  sheath.  .  .  .  He  picked  it  up. 
.  .  .  That  was  all." 

"All?"  Dan'l  protested.  "He  drove  Noll  Wing  to 
death." 

She  shook  her  head.  "  No.  .  .  .  Noll's  own  terrors. 
Noll  was  mad.  .  .  ." 

"  What  was  he  doing  aft,  then?  He'd  no  place 
here.  .  .  ." 

Brander  explained :  "  I  had  him  forward,  watching  for 
breakers.  He  saw  them,  and  yelled,  and  when  no  one 
heard  he  raced  to  give  the  word.  .  .  ." 

Faith  nodded.  "  Yes ;  he  was  gripping  for  the  wheel  to 
swing  it  down,  even  when  Noll  .  .  ." 

Dan'l  swung  to  Brander.  "  You're  over  quick  to  come 
between  me  and  the  men,  Mr.  Brander,"  he  said  harshly. 
"  Best  mend  that." 

"  I'll  not  see  Mauger  smashed  for  no  fault,"  Brander 
told  him  steadily.  Dan'l  took  a  step  nearer  the  other. 

"  You'll  understand,  I'm  master  here,  now." 

There  was  battle  in  Brander's  eyes.  Men's  blood  was 
hot  that  morning.  .  .  .  But  Faith  stepped  between. 
"  Dan'l.  Noll's  gone.  First  thing  is  to  get  the  Sally 
free." 

Dan'l  still  eyed  Brander  for  a  moment ;  then  he  drew 
back,  swung  away,  looked  around.  The  island  they  had 
struck  was  barely  visible  through  the  drifting  rain.  .  .  . 
He  said :  "  This  is  not  where  we  headed." 

"  You  know  this  place?  " 

"  No." 

"  Then  we'll  get  clear  as  quick  as  may  be." 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  269 

He  smiled  sneeringl y :  "  I'm  thinking  we're  here  to 
stay,  Faith.  Leastwise,  the  Sally.  .  .  ." 

"  The  Sally  does  not  stay  here,"  Faith  told  him  sternly. 
"  She  floats ;  she  fills  her  casks ;  she  goes  safely  home  to 
Jonathan  Felt,"  she  said.  "Mark  that,  Dan'l.  That's 
the  way  of  it,  and  nothing  else." 

Dan'l  said  sullenly :  "  You're  not  over  concerned  for 
Noll's  going." 

"  He's  gone,"  said  Faith.  "  An  end  to  that.  But  the 
Sally  was  his  charge ;  she's  my  charge  now.  I  mean  to  see 
her  safe." 

"  Your  charge?  "  Dan'l  echoed.  "  It's  in  my  mind  that 
when  the  captain  dies,  the  mate  succeeds." 

"  You  take  his  place,  if  I  choose,"  Faith  told  him. 

He  met  her  eyes,  tried  to  look  her  down.  Mauger  had 
slipped  away;  old  Tichel,  and  Willis  Cox,  and  Brander 
were  standing  by.  "  You  take  his  place,  if  I  choose," 
Faith  repeated.  And  Dan'l  looked  from  her  to  the  faces 
of  the  officers.  .  .  . 

There  was  a  weakness  in  Dan'l's  villainy;  he  could  de- 
stroy, he  could  undermine  trust,  seduce  a  boy,  kill  honor. 
.  .  .  But  he  lacked  constructive  ability.  He  had  known 
for  months  that  this  moment  must  come,  this  moment  when 
Noll  was  gone,  and  the  ship  and  all  the  treasures  aboard 
her  should  lie  ready  to  his  hand.  Yet  he  had  made  no  plan 
for  this  crisis  ;  he  did  not  know  what  he  meant  to  do.  Evi-n 
now,  by  open  battle  he  might  have  won,  carried  the  day. 
Old  Tichel  was  certainly  for  him;  perhaps  Willis,  too. 
And  Roy.  .  .  .  And  many  of  the  'men.  ...  A  blow,  a 
fight,  and  the  day  might  have  been  his.  .  .  . 


270  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

But  Dan'l  was  never  a  hand  for  strife  where  guile  might 
do  as  well;  he  was  not  by  nature  a  man  of  battle.  Also 
.  .  .  Faith  was  within  his  reach,  now;  Noll  was  gone; 
there  was  no  barrier  between  them ;  he  need  not  anger  her, 
so  long  as  there  was  a  chance  to  win  by  gentler  ways.  .  .  . 
Gentler  ways,  guileful.  .  .  .  He  nodded  in  abrupt,  assent. 

"  All  right,"  he  said.  *'  You  were  Noll's  wife  ;  your  in- 
terest is  a  fair  one.  .  .  .  I'll  work  with  you,  Faith.  .  .  ." 

Faith  was  content  with  that  for  the  moment.  "  We'll 
get  the  Sally  away,"  she  said. 

Dan'l  smiled.     "And  — how?  .  .  ." 

"  Get  out  a  kedge ;  we'll  try  to  warp  her  off  when  the 
tide  comes  in." 

He  chuckled.     "  Oh,  aye.  .  .  .  We'll  try." 

"  Do,"  said  Faith ;  and  she  turned  and  went  below. 
Went  below,  and  wept  a  little  for  pity  of  old  Noll,  and  then 
dried  her  eyes  and  strengthened  her  heart  for  the  task 
before  her.  .  .  .  To  bring  Noll's  ship  safely  home.  .  .  . 

It  was  mid-tide  when  the  Sally  struck ;  and  this  was  in 
some  measure  fortunate,  because  the  ebbing  waters  left  her 
free  of  the  rollers  that  might  have  driven  her  hard  and 
fast  upon  the  sand.  They  broke  against  her  stern,  but 
with  no  great  force  behind  them.  At  the  slack  on  the 
ebb,  the  men  could  wade  about  her  bows,  to  their  waist  in 
the  water.  .  .  .  They  got  the  kedge  out,  astern,  and  car- 
ried a  whale  line  about  the  capstan ;  and  when  the  tide 
came  quietly  in  again,  they  waited  for  the  flood,  then 
strove  at  the  bars  to  warp  her  free.  .  .  . 

When  she  did  not  stir,  though  the  men  strove  till  their 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  271 

reins  were  like  to  burst,  some  cursed  despairingly;  but 
Faith  did  not.  Nor  Dan'l.  Dan'l  was  quiet,  watching, 
smiling  at  his  thoughts.  ...  He  let  Faith  have  her  way. 
Before  the  next  tide,  they  had  rigged  the  cutting-in  tackle 
to  give  a  stouter  pull  at  the  kedge ;  but  this  time  the  whale 
line  parted  and  lashed  along  the  decks,  and  more  than  one 
man  was  struck  and  bruised  and  cut  by  it.  ... 

Dan'l  said  then :  "  You  see,  we're  here  to  stay.  Beit 
thing  is  to  lower  and  make  for  the  nearest  port." 

"  Leave  the  ship?  "  Faith  asked. 

"Yes.     What  else?" 

"  No.     We'll  not  leave  her." 

He  smiled.     "  What,  then?  " 

"  It's  a  week  past  full  moon,"  she  said.  "  There'll  bt 
higher  tides  on  the  new  moon.  .  .  .  Still  higher  on  the 
next  full.  We'll  float  her,  one  time  or  another." 

Dan'l  chuckled.  "  An  easterly'll  drive  her  high  and 
dry,  'fore  then." 

Faith's  eyes  blazed.  "  I  tell  you,  Dan'l,  we  stick  with 
the  Sally;  and  we  get  her  safe  away.  .  .  .  Are  you  afraid 
to  stick?" 

He  laughed,  outright,  pleasantly.  "  Pshaw,  Faith. 
.  .  .  You  know  I'm  not  afraid."  He  could  be  likeable 
when  he  tried ;  she  liked  him,  faintly,  in  that  moment. 
She  gripped  his  hand. 

"  Good,  Dan'l.     We'll  manage  it,  in  the  end.  .  .  ." 

So  they  settled  for  the  waiting;  and  Dan'l  put  the  men 
to  work  repairing  the  harm  the  storm  had  done  the  Sally. 
Her  rigging  was  strained;  it  had  parted  here  and  there. 
She  had  lost  some  canvas.  Willis  Cox's  boat  had  been 


272  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

carried  away.  .  .  .  They  rove  new  rigging,  spread  new 
sails,  replaced  Willis's  boat  with  one  of  the  spares.  .  .  . 
There  was  work  for  all  hands  for  a  month,  to  put  the  Sally 
in  shape  again. 

One  thing  favored* them.  The  Sally,  for  all  her  clumsy 
lines,  was  staunch;  and  the  shock  when  she  drove  her  bow 
upon  the  sand  had  opened  never  a  seam.  She  was  leaking 
no  more  than  a  sweet  ship  will.  They  found  a  cask  or  two 
of  oil  that  had  burst  in  the  hold ;  and  there  was  some  con- 
fusion among  the  stores.  .  .  .  But  these  were  small  mat- 
ters, easily  set  right.  .  .  . 

The  new  moon  was  due  on  the  fifth  day  after  they 
struck.  On  the  fourth,  another  bottle  of  whiskey  ap- 
peared in  the  fo'c's'le,  and  two  men  were  drunk.  Dan'l 
had  the  men  whipped.  .  .  .  Faith  made  no  objection  to 
this ;  but  she  watched  the  faces  of  the  others.  .  .  . 
Watched  the  officers,  and  Brander  in  particular,  and 
Mauger.  .  .  .  Brander,  since  that  morning  of  Noll's 
death,  had  avoided  her  more  strictly.  .  .  .  He  and  Dan'l 
did  not  speak,  save  when  they  must.  She  saw  the  man 
was  keeping  a  guard  upon  himself;  and  she  puzzled  over 
this.  She  could  not  know  that  Brander  was  afire  with 
joy  at  the  new  hope  that  was  awakening  in  him ;  afire  with 
a  vision  of  her.  .  .  .  He  fought  against  this,  held  himself 
in  check;  and  she  saw  only  that  he  was  morose  and  still 
and  that  he  avoided  her  eye.  .  .  . 

The  high  tides  of  the  new  moon  failed  to  float  them; 
and  there  was  growling  forward.  Dan'l  said,  openly,  that 
he  believed  they  would  never  go  free.  The  men  heard ;  and 
the  superstitions  of  the  sea  began  to  play  about  the 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  273 

fo'c's'le.  There  was  unrest ;  the  men  felt  approaching  the 
possible  liberation  from  ship's  discipline  when  they  aban- 
doned the  Sqlly.  They  remembered  the  ambergris  beneath 
the  cabin.  There  was  a  fortune.  .  .  .  They  could  take 
no  oil  with  them ;  but  they  could  take  that  when  the  time 
should  come  to  leave  the  ship.  Plenty  of  room  in  one 
boat  for  it  and  half  a  dozen  men  besides.  .  .  .  They  fretted 
at  the  waiting,  called  it  hopeless,  as  Dan'l  did.  .  .  .  The 
barrier  between  officers  and  men  was  somewhat  lowered; 
more  than  one  of  the  men  spoke  to  Brander  of  the  amber- 
gris. Did  he  claim  it  for  his  own?  .  .  . 

Faith,  one  day,  heard  a  man  talking  to  Brander  amid- 
ships ;  she  caught  only  a  word  or  two.  One  of  these  words 
was  "  'Gris."  She  saw  that  the  man  was  asking  Brander 
a  question ;  she  saw  that  on  Brander's  answer,  the  man 
grinned  with  greed  in  his  eyes,  and  turned  away  to  whisper 
to  two  of  his  fellows.  .  .  . 

She  wondered  what  Brander  had  said  to  him,  why  Bran- 
der had  not  silenced  the  man.  And  she  watched  Brander 
the  closer,  her  heart  sickening  with  a  fear  she  would  not 
name.  .  .  . 

They  had  landed  before  this  and  explored  their  island. 
.  .  .  Low  and  flat  and  no  more  than  a  mile  or  two  in 
extent,  it  had  fruit  a-plenty,  and  a  spring  of  good  water. 
.  .  .  But  none  dwelt  anywhere  upon  it.  It  soon  palled 
upon  them ;  they  stuck  by  the  ship ;  and  the  days  held  clear 
and  fine  and  the  nights  were  warm,  and  the  crescent  moon 
above  them  flattened,  night  by  night,  till  it  was  no  longer 
a  crescent,  but  half  a  circle  of  silver  radiance  that  touched 
the  beach  and  the  trees  and  the  sea  with  magic  fingers.  .  .  . 


«74  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

That  night,  with  the  full  tides  still  a  week  away,  Roy 
Kilcup  came  into  the  waist  and  looked  aft.  There  was  no 
officer  in  sight  at  the  moment  save  old  Tichel,  and  Roy 
hailed  him  softly.  .  .  .  Tichel  went  forward  to  where  the 
boy  stood;  they  whispered  together.  Then  Tichel  went 
with  Roy  toward  the  fo'c's'le.  .  .  . 

Faith  was  in  her  cabin ;  Dan'l  was  in  the  main  cabin ;  and 
Willis  and  Brander  were  playing  cribbage  near  him  when 
the  outcry  forward  roused  them.  A  man  yelled.  .  .  . 
They  were  on  deck  in  tumbling  haste;  and  Faith  was  at 
their  heels.  .  .  . 

Came  Tichel,  dragging  Mauger  by  the  collar.  His 
right  hand  gripped  Mauger;  his  left  held  a  bottle.  He 
shook  the  one-eyed  man  till  Mauger's  teeth  rattled;  and 
he  brandished  the  bottle.  "  Caught  the  pig,"  he  cried 
furiously.  "  Here  he  is.  With  this  hid  under  his  blan- 
ket " 

I\A-  L  •         •        .         . 

Mauger  protested :  "  I  never  put  it  there.  .  .  ." 
Tichel  cuffed  him  into  silence.  Dan'l  asked  sharply: 

"  What's  that,  Mr.  Tichel?  " 

"  Whiskey,  Mr.  Tobey.  He  took  it  forward  and  hid  it 
in  his  bunk.  .  .  ." 

Faith  said :  "  Tell  the  whole  of  it,  Mr.  Tichel.  What 
happened?  "  She  looked  from  Tichel  to  Brander.  Bran- 
der was  standing  stiffly;  she  thought  his  face  was  white. 
Mauger  hung  in  Tichel's  grip. 

Old  Tichel  had  given  a  promise  to  Roy ;  Roy  had  begged 
him  not  to  tell  that  the  boy  had  spied.  Tichel  said  now: 

"  I  saw  him  go  forra'd,  with  something  under  his  coat. 
Never  thought  for  a  minute;  then  it  come  to  me  what  it 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  275 

might  be.  I  took  after  him.  Rest  of  the  men  were  on 
deck,  sleeping.  .  .  .  It's  hot,  below,  you'll  mind.  I 
dropped  down  quietly.  Mauger,  here,  was  in  his  bunk. 
I  routed  him  out,  and  rummaged,  and  there  you  are, 
ma'am."  He  shook  the  bottle  triumphantly. 

Faith  asked  the  one-eyed  man :  "  Where  did  you  get  it, 
Mauger?  " 

"  Never  knov.ed  it  was  there,"  Mauger  swore.  "  Honest 
t'the  Lord,  ma'am.  .  .  ." 

Tichel  slapped  his  face  stunningly.  .  .  .  Faith  said: 
"  No  more  of  that,  Mr.  Tichel.  Dan'l,  what  do  you 
think?" 

Dan'l  lifted  his  hand,  with  a  glance  at  Brander.  "  Why 
—  nothing!  Somebody's  been  doing  it;  him  as  well  as 
another." 

"  Willis,"  Faith  asked.     "  What's  your  notion?  " 

"  I  guess  Mauger  done  it." 

"Brander?" 

Brander  lifted  his  head  and  met  her  eyes.  "  Other  men 
have  found  whiskey  in  their  bunks  without  knowing  how  it 
got  there,"  he  said.  "  I  believe  Mauger." 

Old  Tichel  snarled:  "I'm  saying  I  saw  him  take  it 
aft."  He  dropped  Mauger  and  took  a  fierce  step  toward 
Brander.  "  Ye  think  I'd  lie?  " 

"I  think  you're  mistaken,"  Brander  said  evenly. 
Tichel  leaped  at  him ;  Brander  gripped  the  other's  arms 
at  the  elbow,  held  him.  Faith  said  sharply: 

"  Enough  of  that.  We'll  end  this  thing,  to-night.  Mr. 
Tobey,  get  lanterns,  lights,  search  the  ship  till  you  find 
the  rest  of  this  stuff."  She  took  the  whiskey  bottle, 


276  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

opened  it,  and  poured  its  contents  over  the  rail.  "  Search 
it  out,"  she  said.  "  Be  about  it." 

Save  Dan'l  Tobey,  the  officers  stood  stock  still,  as 
though  not  understanding.  Dan'l  acted  as  quickly  as 
though  he  had  expected  the  order.  He  sent  Silva,  the 
harpooner,  to  get  the  fo'm'st  hands  together  forward  and 
keep  them  there  under  his  eye.  He  sent  Tichel  and  Yella' 
Boy  into  the  main  hold;  Willis  and  Long  Jim  into  the 
after  'tween  decks.  Brander  and  Eph  Hitch  were  to 
search  the  cabin  and  the  captain's  storeroom;  and  Faith 
went  down  with  them  to  give  them  the  keys.  .  .  .  Loum, 
Kellick,  and  Tinch,  the  cook,  were  put  to  rummaging  about 
the  after  deck  and  amidships.  .  .  . 

There  was  no  need  of  lights  upon  the  deck  itself;  the 
moon  bathed  the  Sally  in  its  rays,  and  one  might  have  read 
by  them  without  undue  effort.  Below,  the  whale-oil  lan- 
terns went  to  and  fro.  .  .  .  Brander  and  Hitch  made 
short  work  of  their  task;  and  they  came  on  deck  with 
Faith.  Dan'l  sent  Brander  to  rummage  through  the  steer- 
age where  the  harpooners  slept ;  and  at  Faith's  suggestion, 
Hitch  and  Loum  went  aloft  to  the  mastheads  to  make  sure 
there  was  no  secret  cache  there.  .  .  .  They  were  an  hour 
or  more  at  their  search  of  the  Sally;  and  at  the  end  of  that 
time  they  were  no  wiser  than  they  were  before.  Faith  had 
gone  below  before  the  end ;  she  came  on  deck  as  Tichel  and 
Yella'  Boy  reported  nothing  found  below.  She  asked 
Dan'l: 

"  Have  you  found  anything?  " 

"  No." 

"  Where  have  you  looked?  " 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  277 

Dan'l  said :  "  Everywhere  aboard  her,  Faith.  The 
stuff's  well  hidden,  sure.  .  .  ." 

Faith  said  quietly :  "  If  it's  not  on  the  Sally,  it's  near 
her.  Search  the  boats,  Mr.  Tobey." 

Dan'l  nodded.  "But  it'd  not  be  in  them,"  he  said. 
"  That's  sure  enough." 

"  It's  nowhere  else,  you  say.     Try.  .  .  ." 

Willis  Cox  and  Brander  turned  toward  where  their  boats 
hung  by  the  rail ;  and  Faith  called  quietly :  "  Willis,  Mr. 
Brander.  Let  Mr.  Tobey  do  the  searching." 

Willis  stopped  readily  enough  ;  Brander  —  forewarned, 
perhaps,  by  some  instinctive  fear  —  hesitated ;  she  spoke 
to  him  again.  "  Mr.  Brander." 

He  stood  still  where  he  was.  Dan'l  was  looking  through 
his  own  boat  at  the  moment.  He  passed  to  old  Tichel's ; 
to  that  of  Willis  Cox.  Brander's  came  last.  He  flashed 
his  lantern  in  it  as  he  had  in  the  others,  studied  it  from 
bow  to  stern,  opened  the  stern  locker  beneath  the  cuddy 
boards.  .  .  . 

There  was  a  jug  there;  a  jug  that  in  the  other  boats 
had  contained  water.  He  pulled  the  stopper  and 
smelled.  .  .  . 

"  By  God,  Faith,  it's  here !  "  he  cried. 


XXVII 

THE  closer  the  bond  between  man  and  man,  or  be- 
tween man  and  woman,  the  easier  it  is  to  embroil 
them,  one  with  another.  It  is  hard  for  an  out- 
sider to  provoke  a  quarrel  between  strangers,  or  between 
casual  acquaintances ;  but  it  is  not  hard  for  a  crafty  man 
to  make  dissension  between  friends ;  and  almost  any  one 
may,  if  he  chooses,  bring  about  discord  between  lovers. 
And  this  is  a  strange  and  a  contradictory  thing. 

When  Dan'l  found  the  whiskey  in  Brander's  boat,  and 
came  toward  Faith  with  the  open  jug  in  his  hands,  Faith 
stood  with  a  white  face,  looking  steadily  at  Brander,  and 
not  at  Dan'l  at  all.  Brander  had  made  one  move  when 
Dan'l  lifted  the  jug;  he  had  stepped  quickly  toward  the 
boat,  but  Faith  spoke  quietly  to  him,  and  he  stopped,  and 
looked  at  her.  .  .  . 

Dan'l  was  watching  the  two  of  them.  Mauger  saw  a 
chance,  and  as  the  mate  passed  where  the  one-eyed  man 
crouched,  Mauger  leaped  at  him  to  snatch  the  whiskey 
away.  Tichel  caught  Mauger  from  behind,  and  held 
him.  .  .  . 

The  little  man  had  had  the  best  intentions  in  the  world; 
but  this  movement  on  his  part  completed  the  evidence  of 
Brander's  guilt ;  for  Mauger  was  Brander's  man,  loyal  as 
a  dog,  and  Faith  knew  it.  She  thought  quickly,  remem- 

278 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  279 

bering  the  past  days,  remembering  Mauger's  furtive  air 
and  Brander's  aloofness,  and  his  support  of  Mauger 
against  Tichel.  .  .  .  She  was  sure,  before  Dan'l  reached 
her  with  the  jug,  that  Mauger  and  Brander  were  guilty  as 
Judas.  .  .  .  That  Brander  was  guilty  as  Judas.  .  .  .  She 
scarce  considered  Mauger  at  all. 

Dan'l  handed  her  the  jug,  and  she  smelled  at  it.  Whis- 
key, beyond  a  doubt.  She  took  it  to  the  rail  and  poured 
it  overside  as  she  had  poured  the  contents  of  the  bottle. 
Then  came  slowly  back  and  handed  the  empty  jug  to 
Brander. 

"  This  is  yours,"  she  said.  "  You  had  best  rinse  it  and 
fill  it  with  water  and  put  it  in  your  boat  again." 

The  moon  was  bright  upon  them  as  they  stood  on  the 
deck.  He  could  see  her  face,  he  could  see  her  eyes;  and 
he  saw  that  she  thought  him  guilty.  His  soul  sickened 
with  the  bitterness  of  it ;  and  his  lips  twisted  in  a  smile. 

"  Very  well,"  he  said. 

She  looked  at  him,  a  little  wistfully.  "  You're  not  deny- 
ing it's  yours?  " 

He  shook  his  head.  "No."  If  she  believed,  let  her 
believe.  He  was  furious  with  her.  .  .  . 

"  Why  did  you  do  it?  "  she  asked. 

He  said  nothing;  and  she  looked  up  at  him  a  moment 
more,  and  then  turned  to  Mauger.  "  Why  did  you  do  it?  " 
she  asked  the  little  man. 

Mauger  squinted  sidewise  at  Brander.  Mauger  was 
Brander's  man;  and  all  his  loyalty  was  to  Brander. 
Brander  chose  not  to  speak,  not  to  deny  the  charge  she 
laid  against  them.  ...  All  right;  if  Brander  could  keep 


280  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

silent,  so  could  he.  If  Brander  would  not  deny,  neither 
would  he.  He  grinned  at  Faith ;  and  the  closed  lids  that 
covered  his  empty  eye-socket  seemed  to  wink ;  but  he  said 
nothing  at  all. 

Dan'l  Tobey  chuckled  at  Brander.  "  Eh,  Brander,  I'm 
ashamed  for  ye,"  he  said.  "  Such  an  example  t'the  crew." 

Brander  held  silent.  He  was  waiting  for  Faith  to 
speak.  .  .  . 

When  neither  Brander  nor  Mauger  would  answer  her, 
Faith  turned  her  back  on  them  all  and  went  to  the  after 
rail  and  stood  there  alone,  thinking.  .  .  .  She  knew  Dan'l 
would  wait  on  her  word.  .  .  .  What  was  she  to  do?  She 
needed  Brander ;  she  would  need  him  more  and  more.  .  .  . 
Dan'l  was  never  to  be  trusted ;  she  must  have  a  man  at  he,r 
back.  .  .  .  Brander.  ...  In  spite  of  her  belief  that  he 
had  done  this  thieving,  she  trusted  him.  .  .  .  And  loved 
him.  .  .  .  Loved  him  so  that  as  she  stood  there  with  her 
back  to  them  all,  the  tears  rolled  down  her  cheeks,  and  her 
nails  dug  at  her  palms.  .  .  .  Why  had  he  done  this? 
Why  did  he  not  deny?  Protest?  Defend  himself?  She 
loved  him  so  much  that  she  hated  him.  If  he  had  offended 
against  herself  alone,  she  might  have  forgiven.  .  .  .  But 
by  stealing  whiskey  and  giving  it  to  the  crew  he  was  strik- 
ing at  the  welfare  of  the  Sally  Sims  herself.  .  .  .  And  the 
Sally  was  dearer  to  Faith  just  now  than  herself. 

He  had  struck  at  the  Sally;  she  set  her  lips  and  brushed 
the  tears  from  her  cheeks  and  turned  back  to  them.  "  Mr. 
Tobey,"  she  said.  "  Put  Mr.  Brander  in  irons,  below. 
Give  Mauger  a  whipping  and  send  him  forward."  She 
hesitated  a  moment,  glanced  at  Willis.  "  If  you'll  come 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  281 

down  to  the  cabin  with  me,"  she  said,  "  I'll  give  jou  the 
irons." 

Willis  stepped  toward  her ;  and  with  no  further  glance 
for  Brander,  she  turned  and  went  below. 

They  had  been  two  weeks  hard  and  fast  on  the  sand; 
there  was  another  week  ahead  of  them.  An  easterly  storm 
would  cement  them  into  the  sand  beyond  any  help ;  and  the 
men  looked  for  it  daily.  .  .  .  For  the  rest,  there  was  little 
to  do.  The  Sally  was  in  shape  again,  ready  to  be  off  if 
she  had  the  chance.  .  .  .  The  men,  with  black  faces,  loafed 
about  the  fore  deck  and  whispered  man  to  man ;  and  Dan'l 
went  among  them  now  and  then,  and  talked  much  with 
Roy,  and  some  with  the  others.  .  .  .  Roy  was  elated  in 
those  days ;  the  boy  went  about  with  shining  eyes  and  tri- 
umphant lips.  Every  other  face  among  the  crew  was 
morose  save  his.  .  .  . 

Dan'l  was  not  morose.  He  was  overly  cheerful  in  those 
days.  He  spoke  in  louder  tones  than  was  his  custom ;  and 
there  was  no  caustic  bite  to  his  tongue.  But  his  eyes  were 
narrower,  and  more  furtive.  .  .  .  And  once  or  twice  Faith 
saw  him  turn  away  from  a  word  with  some  of  the  crew 
and  catch  sight  of  her  watching  him,  and  flush  un- 
easily. .  .  . 

But  Faith  scarce  heeded ;  she  was  sick  with  sorrow,  and 
sick  with  anxiety.  .  .  .  The  tides  were  rising  higher  every 
day;  she  watched  for  the  hour  when  they  should  lift  the 
Sally.  .  .  .  And  at  each  high  tide.,  she  made  the  men  stand 
to  the  capstan  bars,  and  fight  in  desperate  efforts  to  fetch 
the  Sally  free.  The  day  before  the  night  of  the  full  of  the 


283  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

moon,  she  had  them  fetch  up  casks  from  the  hold  and  lower 
them  overside  and  raft  them  there.  .  .  .  Cask  after  cask, 
as  many  as  the  men  could  handle  during  the  day,  so  that 
the  Sally  was  lighter  at  nightfall  than  she  had  ever  been 
before. 

The  tide  was  at  the  flood  that  night  at  nine;  and  for 
balf  an  hour  before,  and  for  a  full  hour  after  the  water* 
had  begun  to  ebb,  every  man  of  them  strove  to  stir  the 
Sally.  .  .  .  And  strove  fruitlessly ;  for  the  ship  seemed 
fast-bedded  in  the  sand,  beyond  moving.  At  ten  o'clock, 
Faith  left  the  deck  and  went  sick-heartedly  below.  .  .  . 

At  half  past  ten,  Dan'l  knocked  on  the  door  of  the 
*fter  cabin,  and  she  bade  him  come  in.  He  opened  the 
door,  shut  it  behind  him,  looked  at  her  with  his  cap  in  hii 
hands  for  a  space,  then  sat  down  on  the  seat  beside  the 
desk  where  she  was  sitting. 

"  Eh,  Faith,"  he  said,  "  we're  stuck." 

For  a  moment,  she  did  not  answer;  then  she  lifted  her 
head  and  looked  at  him.  "  There's  a  high  tide  to-morrow 
night ;  comes  a  bit  higher  than  it  is  on  the  flood,"  she  said. 
"  We'll  get  out  more  casks  to-morrow,  and  to-morrow 
night  we'll  float  her." 

Dan'l  shook  his  head  slowly.  "  You're  brave,  Faith, 
and  strong.  .  .  .  But  the  sea's  stronger.  I've  sailed  them 
long  enough  to  know." 

She  said  steadfastly :  "  The  Sally  Sims  has  got  to  come 
free.  It's  in  my  mind  to  get  her  off  if  we  have  to  take 
every  stick  out  of  her  and  lift  her  off  ourselves.  .  .  ." 

"  If  we  could  do  it,  I'd  be  with  you,"  he  told  her.  "  But 
we  can't,  Faith." 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  28S 

"  We  will,"  she  said. 

He  smiled,  studied  her  for  a  moment,  then  leaned  to- 
ward her,  resting  his  hands  on  the  desk.  "  Faith,"  he  said 
softly,  "  you're  a  wonderful,  brave  woman." 

She  looked  at  him  with  a  weary  flicker  of  lips  and  eyes 
that  might  have  passed  for  a  smile.  "  It's  not  that  I'm 
brave,  Dan'l,"  she  said.  "  It's  just  that  I'll  not  let  Noll 
Wing's  ship  rot  here  when  it  should  be  bound  home  t'the 
other  side  of  the  world." 

"  Noll  Wing's  ship  ?  "  he  echoed.  "  Eh,  Faith,  but  Noll 
Wing  is  dead  and  gone." 

She  nodded.     "  Yes." 

"  He's  dead  and  gone,  Faith,"  he  repeated  swiftly. 
"  He's  dead  and  gone.  .  .  .  And  but  for  Noll  Wing, 
Faith,  you'd  have  loved  me,  three  year  ago." 

She  looked  up,  then,  and  studied  him,  and  she  said  softly : 
"  You'll  mind,  Dan'l,  that  Noll  Wing  is  not  but  three  weeks 
dead.  .  .  .  Even  now." 

"Three  weeks  dead!"  he  cried.  "Have  I  not  seen? 
He's  been  a  dead  man  this  year  past;  a  dead  man  that 
walked  and  talked  and  swore.  .  .  .  But  dead  this  year 
past.  You've  been  a  widow  for  a  year,  Faith.  .  .  ." 

She  shook  her  head.  "  So  long  as  the  Sally  lies  here  on 
the  sand,"  she  said,  "  I'm  not  Noll  Wing's  widow ;  I'm  his 
wife.  It  was  his  job  to  bring  her  home;  and  so  it  is  my 
job,  too.  And  will  be,  till  she's  fast  to  the  wharf  at  home." 

"  Then  you'll  die  his  wife,  Faith ;  for  the  Saltyll  never 
stir  from  here." 

"  If  she  never  does,"  said  Faith,  "  I'll  die  Noll  Wing's 
wife,  as  you  say." 


284,  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

He  cried  breathlessly :  "  What  was  Noll  Wing  that 
you  should  cling  to  him  so,  Faith?  " 

"  He  was  the  man  I  loved,"  she  said. 

His  face  blackened,  and  his  fist  banged  the  desk. 
"  Aye ;  and  but  for  him  you'd  have  loved  me.  Loved 
me.  .  .  ." 

"  I  never  told  you  that,  Dan'l." 

"  But  'twas  true.  I  could  see.  You'd  have  loved  me, 
Faith.  .  .  ." 

"  Dan'l,"  she  said  slowly,  "  I'm  in  no  mind  to  talk  so 
much  of  love,  this  night." 

The  man  sat  back  in  silence  for  a  space,  not  looking  at 
her;  nor  did  she  look  at  him.  In  the  end,  however,  he 
shaped  his  words  afresh.  "  Faith,"  he  said  softly,  "  we 
were  boy  and  girl  together,  you  and  I.  Grew  up  together, 
played  together.  ...  I  loved  you  before  you  were  more 
than  a  girl.  Before  you  ever  saw  Noll  Wing.  Can  you 
remember?  " 

He  was  striving  with  all  his  might  to  win  her ;  and  Faith 
said  gently:  "Yes,  Dan'l.  I  remember." 

"  When  I  sailed  away,  last  cruise  but  one,  you  kissed  me, 
Faith.  Do  you  mind?  " 

She  looked  at  him  in  honest  surprise.  "  I  kissed  you, 
Dan'l?" 

"Yes.     On  the  forehead.  .  .  ." 

She  shook  her  head.     "  I  don't  remember  ...  at  all." 

If  he  had  been  wholly  wise,  he  would  have  known  that 
her  not  remembering  was  the  end  of  him ;  but  Dan'l  in  that 
moment  was  not  even  a  little  wise.  He  was  playing  for  a 
big  stake ;  Faith  was  never  so  lovely  in  his  eyes ;  and  there 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  £85 

was  desperation  in  him.  He  was  blind  with  the  heat  of  his 
own  desire.  .  .  .  He  cried  now: 

"  You  do  remember.  You're  pretending,  Faith.  You 
could  not  forget.  You  loved  me  then;  and,  Faith,  you 
love  me  now." 

She  shook  her  head.     "  No,  Dan'l.     Have  done." 

"  I  love  you,  Faith ;  you  love  me,  now." 

"  No." 

He  leaned  very  close  to  her.  "  You  do  not  know ;  you're 
not  listening  to  your  heart.  I  know  more  of  your  heart 
than  you  know,  Faith.  .  .  ." 

"  No,  no,  no,  Dan'l,"  she  said  insistently. 

He  flamed  at  her  in  sudden  fury :  "  If  it's  not  me,  it's 
Brander.  .  .  .  Him  that  you  .  .  ." 

"  Brander?  "  she  cried,  in  a  passion.  "  Brander?  The 
thief  that's  lying  now  in  the  irons  I  put  upon  him?  Him? 
Him  you  say  I  love?  " 

The  very  force  of  her  anger  should  have  told  him  the 
truth ;  but  he  was  so  blind  that  it  served  only  to  rejoice 
him.  "  I  knew  it,"  he  cried.  "  I  knew  it.  So  you  love 
me,  Faith?  .  .  ." 

"  Must  a  woman  always  be  loving? "  she  demanded 
wearily. 

"  Aye,  Faith.  It's  the  nature  of  them.  .  .  .  Always  to 
be  loving.  .  .  .  Some  one.  With  you,  Faith,  it's  me. 
Listen  and  see.  .  .  ." 

"  Dan'l,"  she  said  steadily,  "  what's  the  end  of  all  this? 
What's  the  end  of  it  all ?  What  would  you  have  me  do?  " 

"  Love  me,"  he  told  her. 

"What  else?" 


286  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

"  See  the  truth,"  he  said.  "  Understand  that  the  Sally 
is  lost.  .  .  .  Fast  aground,  here,  to  rot  her  bones  away. 
.  .  .  See  that  it's  hopeless  and  wild  to  stick  by  her.  We'll 
get  out  the  boats.  You  and  I  and  Roy  and  a  man  or  two 
will  take  one ;  the  others  may  have  the  other  craft.  It's 
not  fifty  miles  to  .  .  ." 

"  Leave  the  Sally?  "  she  demanded. 

"  Yes." 

*«  I'll  not  talk  with  you,  Dan'l.     I'll  never  do  that." 

"  There's  th'  ambergris,"  he  reminded  her.  "  We'll  take 
that.  It  will  recompense  old  Jonathan  for  his  Sally  and 
her  oil." 

Her  word  was  so  sharp  that  it  checked  hint ;  he  was  up 
on  his  feet,  bending  above  her,  pouring  out  his  pleadings. 
.  .  .  But  she  threw  him  into  silence  with  that  last  word; 
and  the  red  flush  of  passion  in  his  face  blackened  to  some- 
thing worse,  and  his  tongue  thickened  with  the  heat  in  him. 
He  bent  a  little  nearer,  while  her  eyes  met  his  steadily; 
and  his  hands  dropped  and  gripped  her  arms  above  the 
elbows.  She  came  to  her  feet,  facing  him.  .  .  . 

"  Dan'l,"  she  said  warningly. 

"  If  you'll  not  go  because  you  will,  you'll  go  because  you 
must,"  he  told  her  huskily  and  harshly.  "  Go  because  you 
must.  .  .  .  Whine  at  my  feet  afore  I'm  through  with  you. 
Beg  me  to  marry  you  in  th'  end.  .  .  ." 

If  she  had  been  able  to  hold  still,  to  hold  his  eyes  with 
hers,  she  might  have  mastered  him  even  then;  for  in  any 
match  of  courage  against  courage,  she  was  the  stronger. 
But  the  horror  of  him  overwhelmed  her ;  she  tried  to  wrench 
away.  The  struggle  of  her  fired  him.  .  .  .  Im  a  battle  of 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  287 

strength  and  strength  she  had  no  chance.  He  swung  her 
against  his  chest,  and  she  flung  her  head  back  that  her  lips 
might  escape  him.  He  langhed.  His  lips  were  dry  and 
twitching  as  she  fought  to  be  away  from  him ;  he  held  her 
for  an  instant,  held  her  striving  body  against  his  own  to 
revel  in  its  struggles.  .  .  . 

He  had  her  thus  in  his  arms,  forcing  her  back,  crushing 
her,  when  the  door  flung  open  and  Roy  Kilcup  stood  there. 
The  boy  cried  in  desperate  warning: 

"  Danl,  Brander  is  .  .  ." 

Then  he  comprehended  that  which  he  saw;  and  he 
screamed  with  the  fury  of  an  animal,  and  flung  himself  at 
Dan'l,  tearing  at  the  man  with  his  strength  of  a  boy. 


XXVIII 

DA'N'L  had  laid  his  plans  well ;  he  had  felt  sure  of 
success ;  but  he  had  not  counted  on  trouble  with 
Faith.  He  thought,  after  their  failure  to  float 
the  Sally,  she  would  be  crushed  and  ready  to  fall  into  his 
arms ;  ready  at  least  to  yield  to  his  advice  and  come  away 
and  leave  the  Sally  Sims  where  she  lay. 

After  that,  Dan'l  counted  on  separating  the  crew  by 
losing  the  other  boats.  The  ambergris  would  be  in  his ; 
he  would  master  the  men  with  him.  .  .  .  Faith  and  the 
treasure  would  be  his.  .  .  . 

Brander  was  to  stay  in  the  Sally,  ironed  in  the  after 
'tween  decks.  Dan'l  thought  Brander  was  destroyed  by 
the  evidence  of  his  thieving;  he  no  longer  feared  the  man. 

Not  all  the  crew  would  go  with  him  when  he  left  the  ship. 
Old  Tichel  had  refused.  "  I've  waited  all  my  days  to  be 
cap'n  of  a  craft,"  Tichel  declared.  "  With  you  gone,  I'm 
master  o'  the  Sally.  I'll  stay  and  get  the  feeling  of  it." 
And  Dan'l  was  willing  to  let  him  stay.  Willis  Cox  agreed 
to  do  as  Faith  decided.  Long  Jim,  the  harpooner,  was 
loyal  to  Tichel.  Loum,  Dan'l  did  not  trust.  The  man 
might  stay  with  Brander  if  he  chose. 

But  Dan'l  had  on  his  side  Kellick,  the  steward;  and 
Yella'  Boy,  and  Silva,  and  four  seamen  from  forward,  and 
seven  of  those  who  had  shipped  as  green  hands.  SiJva 
hated  Brander  no  less  than  Dan'l,  for  Brander  had  been 

288 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  289 

given  the  mate's  berth  that  Silva  claimed.  .  .  .  Silva  was 
Dan'l's  right-hand  man  in  his  plans. 

And  Roy,  of  course,  was  Dan'l's,  to  do  with  as  he  chose. 

Mauger  got  some  whisperings  of  all  this  in  the 
fo'c's'le.  There  was  no  effort  to  keep  it  secret  from 
him ;  no  effort  to  keep  the  matter  secret  at  all.  Dan'l  had 
said  openly  that  if  the  Sally  did  not  float,  he  was  for  de- 
serting her ;  those  might  come  with  him  who  chose.  Save 
Mauger,  there  were  none  openly  against  him.  Tichel 
would  stay,  Willis  waited  on  Faith's  word,  but  the  rest 
held  off  and  swung  neither  one  way  nor  another. 

All  of  which  Mauger,  with  infinite  stealth,  told  Brander, 
sneaking  down  into  the  after  'tween  decks  at  peril  of  his 
skin,  night  after  night;  and  Brander,  fast-ironed  there, 
and  taking  his  calamities  very  philosophically,  praised  the 
little  man.  "  Keep  your  eyes  open,"  he  said.  "  Bring 
me  any  word  you  get.  Warn  me  in  full  time.  And  —  find 
me  a  good,  keen  file." 

Mauger  fetched  the  file,  pilfering  it  from  the  tool  chest 
of  Eph  Hitch,  the  cooper.  Brander  worked  patiently  at 
his  bonds,  submitting  without  protest  to  his  captivity. 

That  night  of  the  full  moon,  after  they  had  failed  to 
float  the  Sally,  Dan'l  called  Silva  and  bade  him  prepare 
two  boats.  "Get  food  and  water  into  them,"  he  said. 
"  Plenty.  Make  them  ready.  Tell  the  rest  of  them  to 
lower  if  they've  a  mind.  I'm  for  leaving." 

Silva  grinned  his  understanding.  He  asked  a  question. 
Dan'l  said :  "  I'm  going  down,  now,  to  convince  her. 
She'll  come,  no  fear." 

He  went  below  and  left  Silva  to  prepare  the  boats.     Old 


290  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

Tichel  was  on  deck,  but  Willis  had  gone  below.  Tichel 
did  not  molest  Silva.  Discipline  had  evaporated  on  the 
Sally;  it  was  every  man  for  himself.  Those  who  were  for 
leaving  ship  were  hotly  impatient ;  and  one  boat  full  of 
men  lowered  and  drew  slowly  away  toward  the  mouth  of 
the  cove  where  the  Sally  lay.  There  was  no  wind ;  the  sea 
was  glassy ;  and  their  oars  stirred  the  water  into  sparkling 
showers  like  jewels.  Kellick  and  Yella*  Boy  and  four 
seamen  were  in  that  boat.  Five  of  the  green  hands  and 
Tinch,  the  cook,  caught  the  infection,  and  dumped  food 
into  another  and  water,  and  followed.  .  .  . 

Silva  got  his  boat  overside.  He  had  with  him  two  men, 
men  of  his  choosing  who  had  signed  as  green  hands  but 
were  stalwarts  now.  He  saw  that  the  boat  was  ready, 
then  stood  in  her  by  the  rail,  waiting  for  Dan'l  to  come 
with  Faith.  Roy  was  on  the  after  deck,  where  he  would 
join  them. 

The  men  in  the  two  boats  that  had  already  put  off  were 
lying  on  their  oars,  half  a  mile  away,  watching  the  Sally. 
In  all  their  minds  was  the  thought  of  the  ambergris.  They 
had  no  notion  of  leaving  that  behind;  and  they  did  not 
mean  to  be  tricked  of  their  share  in  it.  Silra  could  see 
the  boats  idly  drifting.  .  .  . 

Mauger  had  slipped  down  to  Brander  with  the  word. 
"  Two  boats  gone  a'ready,"  he  said.  "  Sihra  waiting  for 
Dan'l  Tobcy,  now." 

"  Where's  Faith?  "  Brander  asked. 

u  In  the  cabin.  Mr.  Tobey  went  to  her.  He've  not 
come  up,  yet." 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  291 

Brander  considered.  "Fetch  a  handspike,"  .he  said; 
and  Mauger  crawled  on  deck  and  returned  with  it,  and 
Brander  pried  open  the  irons  he  had  filed  apart.  He 
stood  up  and  shook  himself  to  ease  the  ache  of  his  muscles. 
"  Now,"  he  said,  "  let's  go  see.  .  .  ." 

He  climbed  up  on  deck,  Mauger  at  his  heels,  and  started 
aft.  Roy  saw  him  coming,  and  Silva,  from  the  rail, 
marked  his  movements  and  watched.  Roy  dropped  into 
the  c;:bin  to  warn  Dan'l ;  Brander  leaped  to  follow  him. 
Silva  spoke  to  his  twq  men,  and  plunged  up  to  the  deck 
and  darted  after  Brander. 

Brander  was  at  the  foot  of  the  companion  ladder  in  the 
cabin  when  Roy  threw  open  the  door  of  the  after  cabin  to 
shout  his  warning;  he  saw,  as  Roy  saw,  Dan'l  gripping- 
Faith  and  struggling  with  her.  He  heard  Roy's  cry.  .  .  . 
Leaped  that  way.  .  .  . 

Roy  was  before  him.  Roy,  grown  into  a  man  in  that 
moment.  Dan'l  had  told  him  they  would  leave  the  ship, 
told  him  nothing  more.  Roy  hated  his  sister,  and  DanT 
knew  this,  and  feared  no  trouble  from  the  boy.  But  he 
forgot  that  a  boy's  hate  is  not  over  strong.  When  Roy 
saw  Faith  in  Dan'l's  arms,  helplessly  fighting  against  his 
kisses,  he  leaped  to  protect  her  as  though  there  had  never 
been  harsh  words  between  them.  Roy  was  on  Faith's  side, 
thenceforward. 

The  boy  gripped  Dan'l  from  behind ;  and  for  an  instant 
more  Dan'l  clung  to  Faith.  His  encircling  arm  tightened 
about  her  so  that  she  thought  her  ribs  would  crack;  and 
when  he  flung  her  away,  she  was  breathless  and  flick  to 


292  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

nausea,  and  she  fell  on  the  floor  and  lay  there,  retching  and 
gasping  for  breath.  Dan'l  flung  her  away,  and  swung  on 
Roy. 

"  You  young  fool,"  he  swore,  "  I'll  kill  you,  now." 

Roy  was  helpless  before  him.  Dan'l  held  him  by  the 
throat,  his  fingers  sinking  home.  Roy  beat  and  tore  at 
the  man  helplessly  for  a  space,  then  his  face  blackened, 
and  his  eyes  bulged,  and  Dan'l  flung  him  away. 

Brander  might  have  helped  him,  but  for  the  fact  that 
three  men  dropped  on  him  from  the  companion  hatch  and 
bore  him  smothering  to  the  deck.  The  three  were  Silva 
and  his  allies.  Silva  had  a  knife ;  and  Mauger  had  felt  it, 
on  the  deck  above.  The  one-eyed  man  lay  there  now, 
twisting  and  clutching  at  a  hole  in  his  side.  Silva  was 
first  down  on  Brander;  and  he  struck  at  Brander's  neck 
as  he  leaped.  But  Brander  had  time  to  dodge  to  one  side, 
so  that  Silva  hit  him  on  the  hip  and  bore  him  down.  Then 
the  other  two  were  upon  him.  .  .  . 

This  sudden  tumult  in  the  cabin  rang  through  the  Sally. 
The  night  was  still ;  the  noise  could  be  heard  even  by  the 
boats  that  drifted  half  a  mile  away.  Its  abrupt  outbreak 
was  unsettling;  it  jangled  taut  nerves.  The  two  remain- 
ing seamen  and  Long  Jim,  Loum,  and  Eph  Hitch  lost  cour- 
age, raced  for  a  boat,  dropped  it  to  the  water  and  pulled 
off  to  see  what  was  to  come.  Tichel,  who  was  on  deck,  ran 
to  try  to  stop  them;  but  Loum  struck  out  blindly  and 
threw  the  mate  off-balance  for  an  instant  that  was  long 
enough  to  let  them  get  away. 

The  desertion  of  these  last  men  left  on  the  Sally  only 
the  four  officers,  Roy,  Mauger,  Silva,  and  Silva's  two  men. 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  293 

Faith  was  still  helpless,  so  was  Roy,  and  Mauger  had 
dragged  himself  upright  against  the  bulwarks  and  stripped 
up  his  shirt  to  investigate  his  wound.  It  was  bleeding  pro- 
fusely, but  he  found  he  could  breathe  without  difficulty, 
and  told  himself  shrewdly  that  he  would  come  out  all  right. 

Of  men  able  to  fight  aboard  the  Sally,  there  were  left 
Dan'l,  Silva,  and  the  two  seamen  on  one  side,  against 
Brander  and  Tichel  and  Cox.  The  attitude  of  Tichcl  and 
Cox  was  in  some  sort  uncertain.  But  the  problem  was 
quickly  settled.  .  .  . 

Dan'l,  dropping  Faith  and  flinging  Roy  aside,  had 
charged  into  the  main  cabin  to  finish  Brander ;  but  Brander 
was  so  inextricably  involved  in  his  struggle  with  his  three 
antagonists  that  Dan'l  got  no  immediate  chance  at  him. 
He  was  shifting  around  the  twisting  tangle  of  men,  watch- 
ing, when  Willis  came  out  of  his  cabin  in  a  single  leap.  .  .  . 
Willis  had  been  asleep;  he  was  in  shirt  and  trousers,  his 
belt  tight-girthed.  He  stared  stupidly,  not  understand- 
ing. 

Dan'l,  balked  of  his  chance  at  Brander,  took  Willis  for 
fair  game.  If  he  thought  at  all,  it  was  to  remember  that 
Willis  was  loyal  to  Faith.  He  attacked  before  Willis  was 
fully  awake,  and  bore  the  other  man  back  into  the  cabin 
from  which  Willis  had  come.  He  bent  Willis  against  the 
bunks  so  that  for  an  instant  it  seemed  the  man's  back 
would  snap;  but  desperation  gave  Willis  the  strength  to 
fling  himself  away.  .  .  .  They  whirled  into  the  cabin,  still 
fighting.  Dan'l  was  drunk  with  his  own  rage  by  now.  .  .  . 
He  had  thrown  himself  into  a  debauch  of  battle ;  and  he 
proved,  this  night,  that  he  could  fight  when  he  chose.  .  .  . 


294.  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

He  rocked  Willis  at  last  with  a  left-hand  blow  in  the  ribs, 
so  that  the  younger  man  dropped  his  arms  to  hug  his 
bruised  body ;  and  Dan'l  drove  home  his  fist  to  the  other's 
jaw.  The  blow  smacked  loudly;  and  Willis  went  down 
without  a  sound,  his  jaw  broken.  .  .  . 

If  old  Tichel  had  come  down  the  companion  ladder  a 
minute  sooner,  he  might  have  saved  Willis ;  and  he  and 
Willis  between  them  might  have  overcome  Dan'l.  But  he 
was  too  late  for  that ;  he  was  in  time  to  see  Willis  fall ;  and 
before  he  could  speak,  Dan'l  Tobey  had  attacked  him. 

Dan'l  was  pure  maniac  now;  he  did  not  stop  to  ask 
whether  Tichel  were  friend  or  foe.  And  Tichel,  old  man 
though  he  was,  was  never  one  to  refuse  a  battle.  He  met 
Dan'l's  charge  with  the  tigerish  venom  that  characterized 
him  in  his  rages ;  he  leaped  and  was  fairly  in  the  air  when 
Dan'l  struck  him.  But  Dan'l's  greater  weight  and  the 
impetus  of  his  charge  were  too  much  for  old  Tichel.  In 
the  flash  of  a  second,  Dan'l  had  him  by  the  throat,  downy 
banging  his  head  against  the  floor  till  the  skin  of  his  scalp 
was  crushed  and  the  blood  flowed,  and  Tichel  at  last  lay 
still.  .  .  . 

Dan'l  got  up,  choking  for  breath,  his  chin  down  on  his 
chest.  There  was  blood  on  him;  his  shirt  was  torn;  his 
hair  was  wild.  The  mild,  round  face  of  the  man  was  dis- 
torted by  wrinkles  of  passion.  His  lip  was  bruised  by  a 
blow,  and  it  puffed  out  in  a  surly,  drunken  way.  .  .  .  He 
stood  there,  tottering,  looking  with  blinking  eyes  at  the 
heap  of  men  fighting  at  one  side  of  the  cabin.  .  .  .  Bran- 
der  was  in  that  heap  somewhere.  It  was  still  less  than 
thirty  seconds  since  Dan'l  had  smashed  Willis's  jaw.  Danl 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  295 

stepped  unsteadily  toward  the  heap  of  men  and  peered 
down  at  them  and  laid  hands  on  them  to  pull  them  awaj. 
.  .  .  They  were  too  closely  intertwined.  .  .  . 

He  backed  off  and  looked  around  for  a  weapon.  In  a 
corner  of  the  cabin  he  saw  something  that  might  serve. 
.  .  .  The  head  of  a  killing  lance.  ...  A  bar  of  metal 
three  or  four  feet  long,  flattened  at  one  end  like  the  blade 
of  a  putty  knife,  and  ground  to  the  keenest  edge.  ...  In 
the  whale-fisheries,  it  would  be  mounted  on  a  staff;  but 
there  was  no  staff  in  it  now.  He  picked  the  thing  up,  and 
balanced  it  in  his  hands,  and  walked  gingerly  back  toward 
the  striving  knot  of  men. 

When  Brander  dropped  down  into  the  cabin  and  through 
the  open  door  saw  Faith  in  Dan'l's  arms,  he  was  for  an 
instant  paralyzed.  .  .  .  Then,  as  rage  surged  up  in  him, 
lie  sensed  the  danger  above  him,  and  dodged  to  one  side  as 
Silva  leaped  down  from  the  deck.  Silva  struck  against 
Brandcr's  hip,  his  knife  slitting  the  air.  Brander  was 
thrown  headlong,  and  Silva  flung  after  him.  Brander 
rolled  on  his  back,  catching  Silva  in  the  stomach  with  both 
feet,  as  the  other  two  men  dropped  across  his  body. 

He  had  put  little  force  into  his  kick  at  Silva,  so  that 
the  man  was  unhurt.  Brander  gripped  one  of  the  men  who 
had  fallen  on  him,  and  whirled  him  under.  At  the  same 
time,  the  other  man  attached  himself  to  Brandcr's  neck, 
his  right  arm  about  Brander's  neck  to  choke  him.  Bran- 
der wedged  his  chin  down  and  gripped  this  arm  between 
his  chin  and  his  breast,  holding  it  off  a  little  from  his 
throat.  Then  Silva  came  at  him  from  the  left  side,  and 


296  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

Brander's  left  hand  flung  out  and  gripped  Silva's  knife 
wrist.  .  .  . 

Brander  was  past  the  first  flush  of  anger ;  he  was  cool, 
now,  as  he  was  always  cool  in  danger.  Save  Silva,  the 
men  against  him  were  unarmed.  At  least,  neither  made 
any  effort  to  use  a  weapon.  Therefore  Brander  flung  the 
one  man  out  of  his  arms,  and  gave  his  attention  to  Silva. 
He  was  just  in  time.  Silva  had  shifted  the  knife  to  his 
other  hand.  Brander  grabbed  for  it,  and  the  blade  slid 
along  his  fingers,  barely  scratching  them.  .  .  .  Then  he 
had  the  hand  that  held  it;  and  he  dragged  it  down  and 
wrenched  it  over,  and  across,  and  the  fingers  opened  and 
the  knife  fell.  Brander  groped  for  it,  Silva  swarming 
over  him.  He  got  the  knife,  but  knew  he  could  not  use  it, 
so  he  threw  it  with  the  half  of  his  arm  which  was  free. 
Crushed  down  by  the  man  atop  him,  he  saw  that  it  slid 
across  the  floor  and  flew  into  the  after  cabin.  He  thought 
Silva  had  not  seen  it  go.  .  .  . 

Brander  had  not  marked  Dan'l  when  the  man  came  first 
to  crouch  above  them.  Dan'l  was  at  Willis  when  Brander 
threw  the  knife.  That  weapon  being  gone,  Brander  turned 
his  attention  to  the  man  who  had  his  throat.  He  worked 
as  coolly  as  though  this  man  was  his  only  antagonist ;  and 
while  he  held  off  the  others  with  his  left  hand  and  his  knees, 
his  right  went  up  over  his  shoulder  and  found  the  face  of 
the  man  who  choked  him.  This  groping  hand  of  his  came 
down  against  the  man's  face  from  above.  His  palm  rested 
against  the  cheek  of  his  antagonist ;  and  his  fingers  groped 
under  the  other's  jaw  bone  and  clenched  around  it,  biting 
far  into  the  soft  flesh  at  the  bottom  of  the  mouth.  He 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  297 

got  a  grip  on  this  that  would  hold ;  and  the  man  screamed, 
and  Brander  jerked  him  up,  and  over  his  shoulder.  .  .  . 
The  man  slid  helplessly,  tearing  at  Brander's  clenched 
fingers.  Brander,  at  this  time,  was  sitting  up,  with  Silva 
at  his  left,  arms  gripping,  fists  striking,  and  the  other  at 
the  right.  The  man  whose  jaw  he  had  came  down  in 
Brander's  lap,  and  he  brought  his  right  knee  up  with  all 
his  force  against  the  other's  head  and  the  man  became  a 
dead  weight  across  his  legs.  Brander  wriggled  free  of 
him,  thought  calmly  that  one  of  the  three  was  gone  and 
only  two  remained,  and  turned  his  attention  to  the  others. 

He  had  been  forced  to  let  them  have  their  will  of  him 
for  the  seconds  required  to  deal  with  the  man  who  had 
choked  him.  They  had  him  down,  now,  on  his  back  on  the 
cabin  floor.  One  on  either  side.  .  .  .  He  got  a  left-hand 
grip  on  the  seaman;  he  set  his  right  hand  on  Silva's  arm 
and  his  fingers  clenched  on  Silva's  biceps.  He  flung  them 
off  a  little,  freeing  himself,  so  that  he  might  have  fought 
to  his  feet.  .  .  . 

But  when  he  thrust  these  two  back,  thus  to  right  and 
left,  and  started  to  sit  up,  he  saw  above  him  Dan'l.  Dan'l, 
an  insane  light  in  his  eyes,  the  whaling  lance  poised  in  the 
thrusting  position.  It  flickered  downward  like  a  shaft  of 
light.  .  .  . 

Brander  wrenched  with  all  his  strength  at  Silva;  he 
swung  Silva  up  and  over  his  own  body  just  in  time  to  inter- 
cept the  lance.  It  slid  in  between  two  ribs,  an  inch  from 
Silva's  backbone,  and  pierced  him  through  to  the  sternum. 
...  It  struck  obliquely,  cut  half  way  into  the  mingled 
cartilage  and  bone.  .  .  .  Then  the  soft  iron  of  the  shaft 


298 

"  elbowed  "  at  right  angles,  and  Dan'l  had  to  twist  and 
fight  to  pull  it  free.  Silva,  of  course,  was  as  dead  as  dead. 
Blood  poured  out  of  his  mouth  in  Brander's  very  face. 
.  .  .  He  flung  the  corpse  aside,  rolling  after  it  to  be  on  his 
feet  before  Dan'l  should  strike  again.  But  the  remaining 
seaman  was  in  his  path,  grappled  him,  held  him  for  an  in- 
stant motionless.  Dan'l  had  had  no  chance  to  straighten 
the  lance;  he  lifted  it  like  a  hoe  to  bring  it  down  on 
Brander's  back. 

Then  Faith  called,  from  the  door  of  the  after  cabin: 

"  Dan'l !     Have  done !  " 

Dan'l  looked  and  saw  her,  weak,  trembling,  gripping  the 
doorsill  with  her  left  hand.  In  her  right  was  a  revolver. 

He  leaped  toward  her,  roaring ;  and  Faith  waited  till  ke 
was  within  six  feet  of  her,  then  shot  him  carefully  through 
the  knee.  He  fell  on  his  face  at  her  feet,  howling. 

At  the  same  time,  Brander  got  home  a  blow  that  silenced 
his  last  antagonist,  and  a  great  quiet  settled  down  opon 
the  Sally  Sims. 


XXIX 

WHAT  shadows   remained,  Roy  was   able   to 
clear  away.     Roy,  who  had  hated  Brander, 
and  who  had  hated  Faith,  yet  in  whom  lived 
a  strain  of  true  blood  that  could  not  but  answer  to  these 
two  in  the  end.     The  evil  in  Dan'l  had  been  writ  in  his  face 
for  any  man  to  see,  when  Roy  found  him  clutching  Faith ; 
and  Roy  was  not  blind. 

The  boy  abased  himself;  he  was  pitifully  ashamed. 
Still  hoarse  from  the  choking  Dan'l  had  given  him,  he  told 
how  he  had  stolen  the  whiskey  at  the  man's  bidding.  .  .  . 
A  little  at  first ;  a  ten-gallon  keg  in  the  end.  .  .  .  Told  how 
he  had  himself  filled  Brander's  boat  jug  with  the  liquor, 
and  hidden  a  bottle  in  Mauger's  bunk,  and  lied  to  old 
Tichel  in  the  matter.  Told  the  whole  tale,  and  made  his 
peace  with  them,  while  Faith  and  Brander  watched  each 
other  over  the  boy's  sobbing  head  with  eloquent  eyes.  .  .  . 

For  the  rest;  Silva  was  dead,  and  they  buried  him  in 
the  sand  of  the  beach.  Maugcr  had  a  shallow  knife  slit 
along  his  ribs;  Willis  Cox  had  a  broken  jaw.  The  others 
had  suffered  nothing  worse  than  bruises,  save  only  Dan'l 
Tobcy.  Dan'l's  knee  was  smashed  and  splintered,  and  he 
lay  in  a  stupor  in  the  cabin,  Willis  watching  beside  him. 

Those  who  had  fled  to  the  boats  came  shamedly  back  at 
last;  and  Faith  and  Brander  met  them  at  the  rail,  and 
Faith  spoke  to  them.  They  had  done  wrong,  she  told 
them ;  but  there  was  a  chance  of  wiping  out  the  score  by 
bending  to  the  toil  she  set  them.  They  were  already  sick 

299 


300  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

of  adventuring;  they  swarmed  aboard  like  homesick  boys. 
She  and  Brander  told  them  what  to  do,  and  drove  them 
to  it.  ... 

Before  that  day  was  gone,  they  had  half  her  load  out  of 
the  Sally;  and  at  full  tide  that  night,  with  every  hand  tug- 
ging at  a  line  or  breasting  a  capstan  bar,  they  hauled  her 
off.  She  slid  an  inch,  two  inches,  four.  .  .  .  She  moved  a 
foot,  three  feet.  .  .  .  They  freed  her,  by  sheer  power  of 
their  determination  that  she  must  come  free.  They 
dragged  her  full  ten  feet  before  the  suction  of  the  sand 
beneath  her  keel  began  to  slack,  and  ten  feet  more  before 
she  floated  free.  .  .  .  Then  the  boats  lowered,  and  towed 
her  safe  off  shore,  and  anchored  her  there.  .  .  . 

After  that,  three  days  to  get  the  casks  inboard  again 
and  stowed  below.  Three  days  in  which  Dan'l  Tobey 
passed  from  suffering  to  delirium.  Brander  had  tended 
his  wound  as  best  he  could;  but  the  bone  was  splintered 
and  the  flesh  was  shattered,  and  there  came  an  hour  when 
the  flesh  about  the  wound  turned  green  and  black.  It 
gave  off  a  horrible  fetid  odor  of  decay. 

Brander  told  Faith :  "  He's  got  to  lose  either  leg  or 
life." 

She  did  not  ask  him  if  he  were  sure ;  she  knew  him  well 
enough,  now,  never  to  doubt  him  again.  But  Dan'l,  in  an 
interval  of  lucidity,  had  heard ;  and  he  croaked : 

"  Take  it  off,  Brander.     Take  it  off.     Get  the  ax,  man." 

Brander  bent  over  the  man.     "  I'll  do  my  best  for  you." 

Dan'l  grinned  with  the  old  jeer  in  his  eyes.  "  Aye,  I've 
no  doubt,  Mr.  Brander.  Go  at  it,  man." 

They  had  not  so  much  as  a  vial  of  morphia  to  deaden  the 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  301 

pain ;  but  Dan'l  slumped  into  delirium  at  the  first  stroke 
of  the  knife  Brander  had  whetted  to  a  razor  keenness.     His 
body  twitched  in  the  grip  of  Willis  Cox  and  Loum. 
Faith  helped  Brander  tie  the  arteries;  Roy  stood  by  to 
give  what  aid  he  could.  .  .  . 

When  it  was  done,  Faith  said  the  Sally  would  lie  at 
anchor  till  Dan'l  died  or  mended ;  and  in  two  weeks  Bran- 
der told  her  the  man  would  live.  She  nodded. 

"  Then  we'll  go  out  and  fill  our  casks,"  she  said,  "  and 
then  for  home." 

Brander  looked  at  her  with  shining  eyes.  "  Aye,  fill  our 
casks,"  he  agreed,  as  though  it  were  the  most  natural  thing 
in  the  world  to  stick  to  that  task  till  it  was  done.  They 
put  to  sea. 

Dan'l  was  going  to  live;  but  the  man  was  broken.  He 
was  not  to  quit  his  bunk  through  the  months  of  the  home- 
ward cruise ;  he  was  wasted  by  the  fury  of  his  own  passions, 
by  the  shock  of  his  crippling  injury.  .  .  .  He  had  aged; 
there  was  no  longer  any  strength  in  the  man.  So  old 
Tichel  came  into  his  own  at  last;  he  became  the  titular 
master  of  the  ship,  and  Faith  was  content  to  let  him  hold 
the  reins,  so  long  as  he  did  as  she  desired.  Willis  Cox 
yielded  precedence  to  Brander ;  Brander  was  mate.  When 
they  sighted  whales,  all  three  of  them  lowered,  while  Faith 
kept  ship.  Their  work  had  been  nearly  done  before  Noll 
died ;  they  lacked  less  than  a  dozen  whales  to  fill.  Young 
Roy,  to  his  vast  content,  was  allowed  to  take  out  a  boat 
and  kill  one  of  that  last  dozen,  while  Brander  in  his  boat 
lay  watchfully  by. 

Came  a  day,  when  the  trying  out  was  done,  that  Bran- 


302  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

der  went  to  Faith.     "  We're  bung  up,"  he  said.     "  The 
last  cask's  sweating  full." 

Faith  nodded  happily,  and  swung  to  Mr.  Tichel. 
"  Then  let's  for  home,"  she  said. 

For  the  rest,  the  matter  tells  itself.  They  hauled  in 
to  the  nearest  island  port  and  overhauled  and  recoopered 
the  water  casks,  and  took  on  wood  and  water  for  the  five 
months'  homeward  way.  They  stocked  with  potatoes  and 
vegetables.  The  crow's  nests  came  down,  and  to'gallant 
masts  were  set  to  carry  canvas  on  the  passage.  The  gear 
was  stripped  from  the  whaleboats  and  stowed  away,  and 
two  of  the  boats  were  lashed  atop  the  boathouse,  with 
the  spares.  The  rigging  had  a  touch  of  tar,  the  hull  and 
spars  took  a  lick  of  paint,  the  wood-work  shone  with 
scraping.  .  .  . 

So,  to  sea.  The  first  day  out  saw  the  dismantling  of 
the  try  works ;  and  broken  bricks  flew  overside  for  half 
that  day,  all  hands  joining  in  the  sport  of  it.  Then  a 
clean  deck,  and  a  stout  northwest  wind  behind  them,  and 
the  long  easterly  stretch  to  the  Horn  was  begun.  .  .  . 

That  homeward  cruise  was  a  pleasant  time  for  Faith 
and  Brander.  They  were  much  together,  speaking  little, 
speaking  not  at  all  of  themselves.  .  .  .  Save  once,  Faith 
said,  smiling  at  him  shyly : 

"  I  knew  you  hadn't  done  it,  even  when  I  told  them  to 
put  you  in  irons.  .  .  ." 

He  nodded.     "  I  knew  you  knew." 

They  both  understood ;  their  eyes  said  what  their  lips 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  80S 

were  not  yet  ready  to  say.  There  was  a  reticence  upon 
them.  Faith,  on  the  deck  of  her  husband's  ship,  felt  still 
the  shadow  of  Noll  Wing  in  her  life.  .  .  .  Brander  felt  its 
presence.  It  made  neither  of  them  unhappy;  they  re- 
spected it.  Faith  was  never  ashamed  of  Noll.  He  had 
been  a  man.  .  .  .  She  had  loved  him;  she  was  proud  that 
he  had  loved  her.  .  .  . 

Day  by  day  they  were  together,  on  deck  or  below, 
while  the  winds  worked  for  them  and  the  stars  in  their 
courses  watched  over  them.  Through  the  chill  of  south- 
ern waters  as  they  rounded  the  Cape.  .  .  .  Cap'n  Tichel 
looking  back  at  it,  waved  his  hand  in  valedictory;  and 
Faith  asked:  "  What  are  you  thinking,  Mr.  Tichel?  " 

"  Saying  good-by  to  old  Cape  Stiff  there,"  he  chuckled. 
"  I'll  not  come  this  way  again." 

"  Yes,  you  will,"  she  told  him.  "  You're  captain  of 
your  own  ship,  now.  .  .  .  And  will  be,  next  cruise." 

He  shook  his  head.  "  I  know  when  I'm  well  off,  young 
lady.  Old  Tichel's  ready  to  stick  ashore,  now.  .  .  ." 

She  left  him,  staring  back  across  the  dull,  cold  sea. 
...  He  stood  there  stiffly  till  the  night  came  down  upon 
the  waters. 

After  that,  they  struck  warmer  winds,  with  a  pleasant 
ocean  all  about,  and  the  scud  of  spray  sweet  upon  their 
cheeks,  and  the  Sally  fat  with  oil  beneath  their  feet.  A 
happy  time,  when  Faith  and  Brander,  with  never  a  word 
and  never  a  touch  of  hand,  grew  close  as  man  and  woman 
can  grow.  .  .  . 

Never  a  cloud  in  the  skies  from  their  last  kill  to  the  day 


304  THE  SEA  BRIDE 

they  picked  up  the  tug  that  shunted  them  alongside  their 
wharf  at  home. 

There  are  many  things  that  never  get  into  the  log. 
Faith  had  no  vengeful  heart  toward  Dan'l;  the  man  had 
reaped  what  he  sowed.  With  the  Sally,  Noll  Wing's  ship, 
safe  home  again,  she  was  willing  to  forget  what  had  passed. 
She  told  Dan'l  so.  Silva  was  dead;  the  others  were  but 
instruments.  The  matter  was  done.  .  .  . 

Dan'l,  possessed  by  a  creeping  apathy,  nodded  his 
thanks  to  her  and  turned  away  his  head.  The  man  was 
dying  where  he  lay ;  he  would  not  long  survive. 

Old  Jem  Kilcup  was  at  the  wharf  to  hug  Faith  against 
his  broad  chest.  An  older  Jem  than  when  she  went  away ; 
but  a  glad  Jem  to  see  her  home  again.  Jonathan  Felt 
was  with  him,  asking  anxiously  for  Noll.  When  Faith 
told  them  Noll  was  gone,  old  Jonathan  fell  sorrowfully 
silent.  The  whole  town  would  mourn  Noll ;  he  had  been 
one  of  its  heroes.  .  .  . 

Faith  said  proudly :  "  He's  dead,  sir.  But  this  was  his 
fattest  cruise.  He  never  brought  home  better  than  he's 
sent,  now." 

"  You're  full?  "  asked  Jonathan. 

"  Aye,  every  cask.  .  .  .  And  more,"  said  Faith.  And 
told  him  of  the  ambergris.  She  gave  Brander  so  much 
credit  for  that,  and  for  other  things,  that  Jonathan  hooked 
his  arm  in  that  of  the  young  man,  and  walked  with  him 
thus  when  they  all  went  to  the  office  to  hear  Cap'n  Tichel 
make  his  report. 

Jem  sat  there,  listening,  proud  eyes  on  Faith,  while 


THE  SEA  BRIDE  305 

Tichel  told  the  story ;  and  Faith  listened,  and  looked  now 
and  then  at  Brander,  where  he  stood  in  the  shadows  by  the 
window.  In  the  end,  Tichel  said  straightforwardly  that 
he  was  content  with  what  life  had  brought  him,  that  he  was 
through  with  the  sea.  But  he  pointed  toward  Brander. 

"  There's  a  man'll  beat  Noll  Wing's  best  for  you,"  he 
said. 

Jonathan  got  up,  spry  little  old  figure,  and  crossed  to 
grip  Brander  by  the  hand.  "  You'll  take  out  a  ship  o' 
mine?"  he  asked;  and  Brander  hesitated,  and  his  eyes 
crossed  to  meet  Faith's,  as  though  to  ask  permission. 
Faith  nodded  faintly;  and  Brander  said: 

"  Yes,  sir,  if  you  like." 

"  I  do  like,"  said  Jonathan  briskly.  "  I  do  like ;  so 
that's  settled  and  done." 

Afterward,  Tichel  and  Willis  went  back  to  the  ship. 
Jem,  with  Faith  on  his  arm,  were  to  go  up  the  hill  to 
Faith's  old  home.  They  stopped  outside  Jonathan's  door 
to  say  good-by  to  Brander  for  a  little  while.  Faith  was 
free  of  the  load  of  responsibility  that  she  had  taken  on 
her  shoulders ;  she  had  put  Noll  Wing's  ship  behind  her. 
She  looked  up  at  him  with  eyes  that  offered  everything. 

Brander  said  quietly :  "  I've  much  to  say  to  you  that's 
never  been  said.  Will  you  let  me  come  to  your  home  this 
night  for  the  saying?  " 

Faith  looked  up  at  her  father,  looked  to  Brander  again, 

and  smiled. 

"  Do  come,"  she  said. 

THE    END 

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ZANE  GREY'S  NOVELS 

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THE  LIGHT  OF  WESTERN  STARS 

A  New  York  society  girl  buys  a  ranch  which  becomes  the  center  of  frontier  war- 
fare. Her  loyal  superintendent  rescues  her  when  she  is  captured  br  bandits.  A 
surprising-  climax  brings  the  story  to  a  delightful  close. 

THE  RAINBOW  TRAIL 

The  story  of  a  young:  clergyman  who  becomes  »  wvnderer  in  the  great  western 

uplands—  until  at  last  love  and  faith  awake. 

DESERT  GOLD 

The  story  describes  the  recent  uprising  alone  the  border,  and  ends  with  the  finding 
Of  the  gold  which  two  prospectors  had  willed  to  the  girl  who  is  the  story's  heroine. 

RIDERS  OF  THE  PURPLE  SAGE 

A  picturesque  romance  of  Utah  of  some  forty  years  ago  when  Mormon  authority 
ruled.  The  prosecution  of  Jane  Withersteen  is  the  theme.of  the  story. 

THE  LAST  OF  THE  PLAINSMEN 

This  is  the  record  of  a  trip  which  the  author  took  with  Buffalo  Jones,  known  as  the 
preserver  of  the  American  bison,  across  the  Arizona  desert  ana  of  a  hunt  in  that 
wonderful  country  of  deep  canons  and  giant  pines." 

THE  HERITAGE  OF  THE  DESERT 

A  lovely  girl,  who  has  been  reared  among-  Mormons,  learn*  to  love  a  young  New 
Englander.  The  Mormon  religion,  however,  demands  that  the  girl  shall  become 
the  second  wife  of  one  of  the  Mormons—  Well,  that's  the  problem  ot  this  great  story. 

THE  SHORT  STOP 

The  young  hero,  tiring  of  his  factory  grind,  starts  out  to  win  fame  and  fortune  as 
a  professional  ball  player.  His  hard  knocks  at  the  start  are  followed  by  such  success 
as  clean  sportsmanship,  courage  and  honesty  ought  to  win. 

BETTY  ZANE 

~  This  story"  tells  of  the  bravery  and  heroism  of  Betty,  the  beautiful  young  sister  of 
old  Colonel  Zane,  one  of  the  bravest  pioneers. 

THE  LONE  STAR  RANGER 

"  After  killme  a  man  in  self  defense,  Buck  Duane  becomes  an  outlaw  alone  the 
Texas  border  fn  a  camp  on  the  Mexican  side  of  thenver,  he  finds  a  young  girl  held 
Prisoner  wd  in  attempting  to  rescue  her,  brings  down  upon  himself  the  wrath  of  her 
«ptors  and  henceforth  is  hunted  on  one  side  by  honest  men,  on  the  other  by  outlaws. 

THE  BORDER  LEGION 

—  ;  -  reddle    in  a  soii-it  of  aneer,  sent  Jim  Cleve  out  to  a  lawless  Western  minine 

Joan  *"™fvJlS?   Then  realizing  that  she  loved  him-she  followed  him  out. 

^Lr°wav  the  ifcaptured  by  a  bandit  band,  and  trouble  begins  when  she  shoot. 

THE   LAST  OF  THE  GREAT  SCOUTS. 

By  Helen  Cody  Wetmore  and  Zane  Grey 

ift7torv  of  Colonel  William  F.  Cody.  "  Buffalo  Bill."  a«  told  by  his  sister  «nd 


"Buffalo  Bill."  whose  daring  and  bravery  made  him  famous. 

GROSSET  &  DUNLAP,        PUBLISHERS,        NEW  YORK 


STORIES  OF  RARE  CHARM  BY 

GENE   STRATTON-PQRTER 

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MICHAEL  O'HALLORAN.      Illustrated  by  Frances  Rogers. 

Michael  is  a  quick-witted  little  Irish  newsboy ,  living  in  Northern 
Indiana.     He  adopts  a  deserted  little  girl,  a  cripple.     He  also  as- 
sumes the  responsibility  of  leading  the  entire  rural  community  up- 
ward and  onward, 
LADDIE.      Illustrated  by  Herman  Pfeifer. 

Tills  is  a  bright,  cheery  tale  with  the  scenes  laid  in  Indiana.  The 
story  is  told  by  Little  Sister,  the  youngest  member  of  a  large  family, 
but  it  is  concerned  not  so  i^uch  with  childish  doings  as  with  the  love 
affairs  of  older  members  of  the  family.  Chief  among  them  is  that 
of  Laddie  and  the  Princess,  an  English  girl  who  has  come  to  live  in 
the  neighborhood  and  about  whose  family  there  hangs  a  mystery. 
THE  HARVESTER.  Illustrated  by  W.  L.  Jacobs. 

"The  Harvester,"  is  a  man  of  the  woods  and  fields,  and  if  the 
book  had  nothing  in  it  but  the  splendid  figure  of  this  man  it  would 
be  notable.     But  when  the  Girl  comes  to  his  "  Medicine  Woods," 
there  begins  a  romance  of  the  rarest  idyllic  quality. 
FRECKLES.      Illustrated. 

Freckles  is  a  nameless  waif  when  the  tale  opens,  but  the  way  in 
which  he  takes  hold  of  life  ;  the  nature  friendships  he  forms  in  the 
great  Limberlost  Swamp  ;  the  manner  in  which  everyone  who  meets 
him  succumbs  to  the  charm  of  his  engaging  personality  ;  and  his 
love-story  with  "  The  Angel "  are  full  of  real  sentiment, 
A  GIRL  OF  THE  LIMBERLOST.  ..Illustrated. 

The  story  of  a  girl  of  the  Michigan  woods ;  a  buoyant,  loveable 
type  of  the  self-reliant  American.  Her  philosophy  is  one  of  love  and 
kindness  towards  all  things  ;  her  hope  is  never  dimmed.  And  by 
the  sheer  beauty  of  her  soul,  and  the  purity  of  her  vision,  she  wins  from 
barren  and  unpromising  surroundings  those  rewards  of  high  courage. 
AT  THE  FOOT  OF  THE  RAINBOW.  Illustrations  in  colors. 

The  scene  of  this  charming  love  story  is  laid  in  Central  Indiana. 
The  story  is  one  of  devoted  friendship,  and  tender  self-sacrificing 
love.     The  novel  is  brimful  of  the  most  beautiful  word  painting  of 
nature,  and  its  pathos  and  tender  sentiment  will  endear  it  to  all. 
THE  SONG  OF  THE  CARDINAL.      Profusely  illustrated. 

A  love  ideal  of  the  Cardinal  bird  and  his  mate,  told  with  delicacy 
and  humor. 

GROSSET  &  DUNLAP,        PUBLISHERS,        NEW  YORK 


THE  NOVELS  OF 

MARY  ROBERTS    RINEHART 

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DANGEROUS  DAYS. 

A  brilliant  story  of  married  life.  A  romance  of  fine  purpose  and 
stirring  appeal. 

THE  AMAZINTG  INTERLUDE. 

Illustrations  by  The  Kinneys. 

The  story  of  a  great  love  which  cannot  be  pictured— an  interlude 
— amazing,  romantic. 

LOVE  STORIES. 

This  book  is  exactly  what  its  title  indicates,  a  collection  of  love 
affairs — sparkling  with  humor,  tenderness  and  sweetness. 

"K."    Illustrated. 

K.  LeMoyne,  famous  surgeon,  goes  to  live  in  a  little  town  where 
beautiful  Sidney  Page  lives.  She  is  in  training  to  become  a  nurse. 
The  joys  and  troubles  of  their  young  love  are  told  with  keen  and 
sympathetic  appreciation. 

THE  MAM  IN  LOWER  TEN. 

Illustrated  by  Howard  Chandler  Christy. 

An  absorbing  detective  story  woven  around  the  mysterious  death 
of  the  "  Man  in  Lower  Ten." 

WHEN  A  MAN  MARRIES. 

Illustrated  by  Harrison  Fisher  and  Mayo  Bunker. 

A  young  artist,  whose  wife  had  recently  divorced  him,  finds  that 
his  aunt  is  soon  to  visit  him.  The  aunt,  who  contributes  to  the 
family  income,  knows  nothing  of  the  domestic  upheaval.  How  the 
young  man  met  the  situation  is  entertainingly  told. 

THE  CIRCULAR  STAIRCASE.   Illustrated  by  Lester  Ralph. 

The  occupants  of  "Runnyside"  find  the  dead  body  of  Arnold 
Armstrong  on  the  circular  staircase.  Following  the  murder  a  bank 
failure  is  announced.  Around  these  two  events  is  woven  a  plot  of 
absorbing  interest. 

THE  STREET  OF  SEVEN  STARS.  (Photoplay  Edition.) 

Harmony  Wells,  studying  in  Vienna  to  be  a  great  violinist,  sud- 
denly realizes  that  her  money  is  almost  gone.  She  meets  a  young 
.•i:nbitious  doctor  who  offers  her  chivalry  and  sympathy,  and  together 
with  world-worn  Dr.  Anna  and  Jimnue,  the  waif,  they  share  their 
love  and  slender  means. 

GROSSET  &  DUNLAP,        PUBLISHERS,        NEW  YORK 


BOOTH  TARKINGTON'S 
NOVELS 

May  be  had  wherever  books  are  sold.     Ask  .for  Grosset  &  Dunlap's  list. 

SEVENTEEN.    Illustrated  by  Arthur  William  Brown. 

No  one  but  the  creator  of  Penrod  could  have  portrayed 
the  immortal  young  people  of  this  story.  Its  humor  is  irre- 
sistible and  reminiscent  of  the  tune  when  the  reader  was 
Seventeen. 

PENROD.    Illustrated  by  Gordon  Grant. 

This  is  a  picture  of  a  boy's  heart,  full  of  the  lovable,  hu- 
morous, tragic  things  which  are  locked  secrets  to  most  older 
folks.  It  is  a  finished,  exquisite  work. 

PENROD  AND  SAM.  Illustrated  by  Worth  Brehm. 

Like  "  Penrod "  and  "  Seventeen,"  this  book  contains 
eome  remarkable  phases  of  real  boyhood  and  some  of  the  best 
stories  of  juvenile  prankishness  that  have  ever  been  written. 

THE  TURMOIL.    Illustrated  by  C.  E.  Chambers. 

Bibbs  Sheridan  is  a  dreamy,  imaginative  youth,  who  re- 
volts against  his  father's  plans  for  him  to  be  a  servitor  of 
big  business.  The  love  of  a  fine  girl  turns  Bibb's  life  from 
failure  to  success. 

THE  GENTLEMAN  FROM  INDIANA.    Frontispiece. 

A  story  of  love  and  politics, — more  especially  a  picture  of 
a  country  editor's  life  in  Indiana,  but  the  charm  of  the  book 
lies  in  the  love  interest. 

THE  FLIRT.    Illustrated  by  Clarence  F.  Underwood. 

,  The  "  Flirt,"  the  younger  of  two  sisters,  breaks  one  girl's 
engagement,  drives  one  man  to  suicide,  causes  the  murder 
of  another,  leads  another  to  lose  his  fortune,  and  in  the  end 

•marries  a  stupid  and  unpromising  suitor,  leaving  the  really 
worthy  one  to  marry  her  sister. 

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KATHLEEN   NORRIS'  STORIES 


The  story  of  a  beautiful  woman  who  fought  a  bitter  fight  for 
happiness  and  love. 


May  b»  had  wherever  books  tre  sold.        Ask  for  Grosset  &  Dunlap's  list 

SISTERS.   Frontispiece  by  Frank  Street. 

The  California  Redwoods  furnish  the  background  for  this 
beautiful  story  of  sisterly  devotion  and  sacrifice. 

POOR.  DEAR.   MARGARET  KIRBY. 
Frontispiece  by  George  Gibbs. 

A  collection  of  delightful  stories,  including  "Bridging  the 
Years  "  and  "The  Tide-Marsh."  This  story  is  now  shown  in 
moving  pictures. 

JOSSELYN'S  WIFE.  Frontispiece  by  C.  Allan  Gilbert. 

The  story  of  a  beautiful  woman  whi 
happiness  and  love. 

MARTIE.  THE  UNCONQUERED. 
Illustrated  by  Charles  E.  Chambers. 
The  triumph  of  a  dauntless  spirit  over  adverse  conditions. 

THE  HEART  OF  RACHAEL. 
Frontispiece  by  Charles  E.  Chambers. 

An  interesting  story  of  divorce  and  the  problems  that  come 
with  a  second  marriage. 

THE  STORY  OF  JULIA  PAGE. 

Frontispiece  by  C.  Allan  Gilbert. 

I    A  sympathetic  portrayal  of  the  guest  of  a  normal  girl,  obscure 

and  lonely,  for  the  happiness  of  life. 

SATURDAY'S  CHILD.    Frontispiece  by  F.  Graham  Cootes. 

Can  a  girl,  born  in  rather  sordid  conditions,  lift  herself  through 
sheer  determination  to  the  better  things  for  which  her  soul 
hungered  ? 

MOTHKR.    Illustrated  by  F.  C.  Yohn. 

A  story  of  the  big  mother  heart  that  beats  in  the  background 
of  every  girl's  life,  and  some  dreams  which  came  true. 

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JAMES   OLIVER  CURWOOD'S 

STORIES  OF   ADVENTURE 

Kay  ba  had  wherav»r  books  are  sold.     A»k  far  Grotsat  and  Dunlap's  Hti. 

KAZAN 

The  tale  of  a  "quarter-strain  wolf  and  three-quarters  husky" 
torn  between  the  call  of  the  human  and  his  wild  mate. 

BAREE.  SON  OF  KAZAN 

The  story  of  the  son  of  the  blind  Grey  Wolf  and  the  gallant 
part  he  played  in  the  lives  of  a  man  and  a  woman. 

THE  COURAGE  OF  CAPTAIN  PLUM 

The  story  of  the  King  of  Beaver  Island,  a  Mormon  colony, 
and  his  battle  with  Captain  Plum. 

THE  DANGER  TRAIL 

A  tale  of  snow,  of  love,  of  Indian  vengeance,  and  a  mystery 
of  the  North. 

THE  HUNTED  WOMAN 

A  tale  of  the  "end  of  the  line,"  and  of  a  great  fight  in  the 
"valley  of  gold"  for  a  woman. 

THE  FLOWER  OF  THE  NORTH 

The  story  of  Fort  o'  God,  where  the  wild  flavor  of  the  wilder- 
ness is  blended  with  the  courtly  atmosphere  of  France. 
THE  GRIZZLY  KING 

The  story  of  Thor,  the  big  grizzly  who  lived  in  a  valley  where 
man  had  never  come.    ' 

ISOBEL 

A  love  story  of  the  Far  North. 
THE  WOLF  HUNTERS 

A  thrilling  tale  of  adventure  in  the  Canadian  wilderness, 
THE  GOLD  HUNTERS 

The  story  of  adventure  in  the  Hudson  Bay  wilds. 
THE  COURAGE  OF  MARGE  O'DOONE 

Filled  with  exciting  incidents  in  the  land  of  strong  men  and 
women. 

BACK  TO  GOD'S  COUNTRY 

A  thrilling  story  of  the  Far  North.     The  great  Photoplay  was 
made  from  this  book. 

GROSSET  &  DUNLAP,        PUBLISHERS,         NEW  YORK 


RALPH    CONNOR'S  STORIES 

OF   THE    NORTHWEST 

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THE  SKY  PILOT  IN  NO  MAN'S  LAND 

The  clean-hearted,  strong-limbed  man  of  the  West  leaves 
his  hills  and  forests  to  fight  the  battle  for  freedom  in  the 
old  world. 

BLACK  ROCK 

A  story  of  strong  men  in  the  mountains  of  the  West. 
THE  SKY  PILOT 

A  story  of   cowboy  life,  abounding  in  the  freshest  humor, 
the  truest  tenderness  and  the  finest  courage. 
THE  PROSPECTOR 

A  tale  of  the  foothills  and  of  the  man  who  came  to  them 
to  lend  a  hand  to  the  lonely  men  and  women  who  needed  a 
protector. 
THE  MAN  FROM  GLENGARRY 

This  narrative  brings  us  into  contact  with  elemental  and 
volcanic  human  nature  and  with  a  hero  whose  power  breathes 
from  every  word. 
GLENGARRY  SCHOOL  DAYS 

In   this  rough  country  of  Glengarry,  Ralph  Connor  has 
found  human  nature  in  the  rough. 
THE  DOCTOR 

The  story    of  a  "preacher-doctor"  whom  big  men  and 
reckless  men  loved  for  his  unselfish  life  among  them. 
THE  FOREIGNER 

A  tale  of  the  Saskatchewan  and  of  a  "  foreigner "  who 
made  a  brave  and  winning  fight  for  manhood  and  love. 
CORPORAL  CAMERON 

This  splendid  type  of  the  upright,  out-of-door  man  about 
which  Ralph  Connor  builds  all  his  stories,  appears  again  in 
this  book. , 

GROSSET  &  DUNLAP,        PUBLISHERS,        NEW  YORK 


THE  NOVELS  OF 
GRACE    LIVINGSTON    HILL     LUTZ 

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THE  BEST  MAN 

Through  a  strange  series  of  adventures  a  young  man  finds 
himself  propelled  up  the  aisle  of  a  church  and  married  to  a 
strange  girl. 

A  VOICE  IN  THE  WILDERNESS 

On  her  way  West  the  Heroine  steps  off  by  mistake  at  a  lonely 
watertank  into  a  maze  o  thrilling  events. 

THE  ENCHANTED  bARN 

Every  member  of  the  family  will  enjoy  this  spirited  chronicle 
of  a  young  girl's  resourcefulness  and  pluck,  and  the  secret  of 
the  "enchanted"  barn. 

THE  WITNESS 

The  fascinating  story  of  the  enormous  change  an  incident 
wrought  in  a  man's  life. 

MARCIA  SCHUYLER 

A  picture  of  ideal  girlhood  set  in  the  time  of  full  skirts  and 
poke  bonnets. 

LO.   MICHAEL  ! 

A  story  of  unfailing  appeal  to  all  who  love  and  understand  boys. 
THE  MAN  OF  THE  DESERT 

An  intensely  moving  love  story  of  a  man  of  the  desert  and  a 
girl  of  the  East  pictured  against  the  background  of  the  Far  West. 

PHOEBE  DEANE 

A  tense  and  charming  love  story,  told  with  a  grace  and  a  fer- 
vor with  which  only  Mrs.  Lutz  could  tell  it. 

DAWN  OF  THE  MORNING 

A  romance  of  the  last  century  with  all  of  its  old-fashioned 
charm.  A  companion  volume  to  "Marcia  Schuyler"  and 
"  Phoebe  Deane." 

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"STORM  COUNTRY"  BOOKS  BY 

GRACE  MILLER  WHITE 

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JUDY  OF  ROGUES'  HARBOR 

Judy's  untutored  ideas  of  God,  her  love  of  wild  things, 
her  faith  in  life  are  quite  as  inspiring  as  those  of  Tess. 
Her  faith  and  sincerity  catch  at  your  heart  strings.  This 
book  has  all  of  the  mystery  and  tense  action  of  the  other 
Storm  Country  books. 

TESS  OF  THE  STORM  COUNTRY 

It  was  as  Tess,  beautiful,  wild,  impetuous,  that  Mary 
Pickford  made  her  reputation  as  a  motion  picture  actress. 
How  love  acts  upon  a  temperament  such  as  hers — a  tem- 
perament that  makes  a  woman  an  angel  or  an  outcast,  ac- 
cording to  the  character  of  the  man  she  loves — is  the 
theme  of  the  story. 

THE  SECRET  OF  THE  STORM  COUNTRY 

The  sequel  to  "  Tess  of  the  Storm  Country,"  with  the 
same  wild  background,  with  its  half-gypsy  life  of  the  squat- 
ters— tempestuous,  passionate,  brooding.  Tess  learns  the 
"  secret "  of  her  birth  and  finds  happiness  and  love  through 
her  boundless  faith  hi  life. 

FROM  THE  VALLEY  OF  THE  MISSING 

A  haunting  story  with  its  scene  laid  near  the  country 
familiar  to  readers  of  "  Tess  of  the  Storm  Country." 

ROSE  O'  PARADISE 

"Jinny"  Singleton,  wild,  lovely,  lonely,  but  with  a  pas- 
sionate yearning  for  music,  grows  up  in  the  house  of  Lafe 
Grandoken,  a  crippled  cobbler  of  the  Storm  Country.  Her 
romance  is  full  of  power  and  glory  and  tenderness. 

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ELFANOR  H.  PORTER'S  NOVELS 

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JUST  DAVID 

The  tale  of  a  loveable  boy  and  the  place  he  comes  to 
fill  in  the  hearts  of  the  gruff  farmer  folk  to  whose  care  he 
is  left. 

THE  ROAD  TO  UNDERSTANDING 

A  compelling  romance  of  love  and  marriage. 
OH,  MONEY!   MONEY! 

Stanley  Fulton,  a  wealthy  bachelor,  to  test  the  disposi- 
tions of  his  relatives,  sends  them  each  a  check  for  $100,- 
000,  and  then  as  plain  John  Smith  comes  among  them  to 
watch  the  result  of  his  experiment. 

SIX  STAR  RANCH 

A  wholesome  story  of  a  club  of  six  girls  and  their  sum- 
mer on  Six  Star  Ranch. 

DAWN 

The  story  of  a  blind  boy  whose  courage  leads  him 
through  the  gulf  of  despair  into  a  final  victory  gained  by 
dedicating  his  life  to  the  service  of  blind  soldiers. 

ACROSS  THE  YEARS 

Short  stories  of  our  own  kind  and  of  our  own  people. 
Contains  some  of  the  best  writing  Mrs.  Porter  has  done. 

THE  TANGLED  THREADS 

In  these  stories  we  find  the  concentrated  charm  and 
tenderness  of  all  her  other  books. 

THE  TIE  THAT  BINDS 

Intensely  human  stories  told  with  Mrs.  Porter's  won- 
derful talent  for  warm  and  vivid  character  drawing. 

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